Raccoon City: Demon's Gate
by Windra
Summary: Rowan was just a normal 13-year-old girl in a somewhat normal town. But when one of Umbrella's viruses leaks out into the city, she must fight with some newfound companions for their lives. Interferes with RE3 **COMPLETE**
1. Chapter 1

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 1  
By: Windra  
  
(Ok, this is my first RE fanfic that I posted. It may be lame in the beginning, but I'll improve. I've been planning on writing about it for a few weeks, so now I'm gonna start to write it. So please r and r. If anything's wrong, tell me in the review and I'll improve)  
  
*******************  
  
It was September 26, 1998. A typical day in Raccoon City. The breeze was cool, signaling the coming of winter. The trees' leaves were starting to change colors, falling silently to the ground with each breeze that swept through the city. Outside, the dogs yipped at the passing cars and pedistrians. Somehow, the city was quieter than usual.   
  
Down Main Street was a middle school called Raccoon City Middle School North. The school was shaped like a 'U' and it had two floors to it. In the center of the school was the Main Office. There was also an east wing and a west wing. The school contained students from 6th grade to 8th grade, and at this moment, the 6th graders were in their classes, working, while the 7th graders were coming back from lunch. The 8th graders got out of their class and packed their things at their lockers, then hauled their backpacks and jackets to their last two period classes and sped down to the cafeteria.   
  
13 year-old Rowan Naton was strolling down the hall, her hazel eyes scanning the hallway. Her shoulder-length brown hair billowed behind her. Rowan wore a tee-shirt with a chinese dragon on the back, and the front of the shirt read 'Gaurdians of Paradise'. She wore denim jeans and blue and white sneakers. Sighing, she trudged down the hall, pocketing her lunch money. As she walked, another girl rushed past and hit Rowan with her purse. Rowan mumbled something as the girl stormed pass. She wasn't one for purses, and prbably never will be. She was constantly getting hit by them in crowded halls. She turned to the left and into the cafeteria. To the right of them was a wall full of windows and doors that led outside. Rowan took a left down the steps to get to the tables.   
  
The cafeteria was split into four sections, and in the front of the place sat a stage. There were black curtains dangling in the back and Mrs. Graylee sat on a stool in front of the podium. The cafeteria wasn't only used for lunch. It was also used for plays and concerts, not to mention where the graduations were held. In the back of the curtains was where the band class was.  
  
Rowan walked over to the growing line in front of the two doors that were at the other side of the cafeteria. In the two doors were the kitchens, where the children were served food, and the doors were on either side, one on the left and one on the right. The students exited out of the kitchen by using the two doors in front of the cash registers in the kitchen. Rowan hadn't eaten breakfast, and she was starving.   
  
She stood behind a boy on the left line and waited for the line to move into the kitchen. She leaned over into a small ice box on the right to pull out a pint of milk. As the line progressed, she picked up a tray with a slice of pizza and some fries on it. She moved to the cashier, paying the forty cents for her lunch, then walked into section 1 of the lunch room, looking for a specific table.  
  
In the northwest corner was a table with three girls from the west wing sitting at it. Rowan knew them all well. One of the girls who was seated had long, curly brown hair, a grey sweatshirt, and blue sweatpants. She was large, no offense, but was a very good friend of Rowan's. Her name was Kristin Locke. At the other side of the table sat Sarah Tantel, a girl with long, black hair tied in a ponytail and wearing a white t-shirt and baggy jeans. The girl sitting next to her was Victoria Salmith, who had long chestnut hair tied in a bun and wore a grey long sleeved shirt and denim jeans. She had glasses on her eyes, and she adjusted them slightly as she looked around the cafeteria, her gaze falling on Rowan. She waved for her to come sit with them.   
  
Rowan moved over to them, taking an unoccupied seat and setting her lunch tray down. Sarah smiled and reached over to her tray, picking up a couple of fries and leaning back in her chair after she put them in her mouth. Rowan glared at her, and Sarah gave a goofy grin, making her laugh.  
  
"Y'know," Rowan began, "I'm gonna have to find a way to block these fries from you."  
  
Sarah laughed. Kristin looked up, smiling, and reached into her purse, pulling out a bottle of hand lotion and squirting some on her hands.  
  
"Hey, Rowan," she said. "What's happening?"  
  
"Not much, unless you consider being pounded down with homework from my math teacher."  
  
"I hate math," Victoria murmered. "I hope you've got a better teacher than me."  
  
"Are you kidding? Our teacher's so cruel with homework, I think I'm beginning to understand why 'hell' is in Mr. Hellton's name."  
  
Victoria snickered, leaning back in her chair as she took a bite of her tuna fish sandwhich.  
  
"It's freaky, though...," Kristin whispered. "With all these murders going about, my mom's flipping out and getting overprotective. She'll freak if I get a bloody nose. This," she paused, looking around, "is sending her off into the deep end."  
  
"I know what'cha mean," Rowan sighed. "My mom's acting the same way... But I don't blame her. She's probably afraid that someone will ambush me and eat me alive..."  
  
"I've been hearing moans every now and then," Victoria mumbled.   
  
"And howling dogs...," Sarah added. "I've never even heard of a wolf howling as much as the one last night. The thing was close to my house... So what happened? Wolves are starting to flip, too?"  
  
"Maybe it had rabies?" Rowan asked.  
  
"Coulda been..."  
  
"With all that happened in July, I'm not surprised...in a way..." Rowan shuddered. "Think about it. Cannibal murders were starting in July, then ended when the mansion in the woods exploded. Now their coming back."  
  
Victoria grinned and started humming 'I get knocked down, but I get up again. Ain't ever gonna keep me down'.  
  
"Haha," Kristin said sarcastically.   
  
"It's just-"  
  
Rowan stopped abrubtly to look up at the stage.  
  
A man was walking towards Mrs. Graylee, his one leg limp and a small gash on his right wrist. The rest of him was in perfect condition, though. Sarah, Kristin, and Victoria looked up as well, and so did the majority of the cafeteria. Instead, the student wrinkled their noses and gave a moan of disgust. A thick smell of what smelt like rotten eggs and bile filled the air, a smell that smelt like decay.  
  
Mrs. Graylee turned and gasped as the man walked up to her. She reached for a lunch pass so he could go to the nurse's office and handed it to him, but he ignored it. His eyes were fixed on her, and, with a gurgling moan, his arms reached out, gripping her shoulders and pushing her to the ground. He lowered his mouth to her neck and sunk his teeth into the screaming teacher, then pulled his head back, tearing out a chunk of flesh. He gave a groan of triumph and swallowed the fresh meat, then went back down to grab another bite.  
  
By now, more than half of the students were screaming. Some were panicking and fleeing down the halls, while others were in shock. Rowan, on the other hand, leapt on the stage.  
  
"Mrs. Graylee!" she cried as she grabbed a music stand from the back, then dashed towards the monster.  
  
When Rowan first arrived in school, she was friendless. Her former friends had turned around and stabbed her in the back by passing rumors around the school. Because of that, Rowan became so depressed that she wouldn't talk to anyone and wanted nothing to do with anyone. Mrs. Graylee had been there for her and helped her out. She got her to meet some people, and she helped her take care of her problems. Now, the one who had helped her was on the ground of the stage, dying in her own blood as a flesh-crazed freak tore into her.   
  
Yelling out in anguish, Rowan ran up to the man, smacking him hard in the back with the sharp point of the music stand He didn't flinch, but stopped, and looked up to meet her eyes. The man's eyes were a souless white. No pupil...just white. His skin was scabbed and dry, some parts of his face caked with dry blood. Fresh blood from Mrs. Graylee dripped from his mouth as it began to stand up and face the girl. Only one word came to Rowan's mind, one that described the person-no, thing- that stood in front of her...  
  
"Zombie," she gasped, stepping backwards, still gripping the music stand, as the creature shambled towards her.  
  
She kept backing up until her back met the wall. The creature was less than a foot in front of her, and it gripped its clammy hands on her shoulder.  
  
"ROWAN!!" someone in the background yelled over the screaming crowd. She could make out the voices of Kristin, Sarah, Victoria, and some other kids she knew.  
  
She strugled in her mind to find something to do, to find something tha would stop the monster that moved its mouth to her, its mouth opened wide-  
  
i-The head, damnit! THE HEAD!! Like in Night of the Living Dead! Whack it in the head!/i  
  
Rowan grimaced as the monster's grip tightened, as it's mouth was about to dig into her-  
  
-and with a ghastly moan, it fell to the ground as she raised the music stand so that the sharp ends went into the skull. She stepped around the pool of blood that formed around it, making her way to Mrs. Graylee. Grimacing, she knelt down to the woman's body, checking for a pulse, and felt nothing. She shook her head, standing up, and faced the crowd that was staring at her.  
  
Another shriek pierced the air as a young girl backed away from the doors that led outside. A horde of the living dead were pounding on the doors hungrily, their eyes staring at the children inside. Outside, some of the zombies were feasting on the children who got outside, grouping around the bodies like someone had spilt a million dollars there and didn't bother to pick it up.  
  
Rowan turned to the panicking crowd, raising her arms to silence them.  
  
"Listen to me, we've gotta get outta here, now! I dunno how long those doors will hold. We've gotta find a safe area, and fast!"  
  
Some of the kids nodded and began to make their way to the halls, and Rowan leapt down to her friends, who hugged her with joy that she was still alive. She smiled and motioned for them to follow her, and the did. They ran into the hall, making their way to the right-  
  
i-CRASH!!/i  
  
Rowan swung around, meeting the gaze with over 20 or so zombies as they piled in through the broken windows and doors. Some of the children were caught and being mutialated at the second Rowan turned around. She twirled quickly, and yelled out:  
  
"RUN!!"  
  
The moment she yelled, the kids were piling up into the halls, trying to get into some classroom to hide in and lock behind them. 6th and 7th graders fled out of their classes, screaming and yelling as an army of the undead shuffled behind them, moaning with fixed, helpless hunger, signaling that they had broken through the windows in the rooms. Rowan began to make her way to a room where there were no windows, the janitor's room, motioning for Kristin, Sarah, and Victoria to follow her, and a familiar yell filled the air as she turned towards the door. Surprised, she spun to see Victoria and Sarah being caught by a dozen zombies. The two were trapped as flailing arms reached for them.  
  
"NOOOOO!!!" Victoria yelled as one lurched into her and dug into her neck, dragging her to the ground.  
  
"Sarah! Victoria!" Kristin and Rowan yelled in usion.  
  
Sarah turned to Kristin and Rowan, her face wet as tears streamed down her face. She turned to Victoria's body, looking down as she saw her friend being eaten, as more zombies closed in on Sarah. She shook her head and turned to her two friends.  
  
"Get outta here!" she yelled, her voice cracking.  
  
"But-" Kristin started.  
  
"JUST GO!! Find a way out of here!"  
  
The zombies began to push her to the ground.  
  
"Live!" she yelled, and a zombie tore into her neck.  
  
Rowan and Kristin exchanges glances. Both of them felt the sting of tears in their eyes. Rowan turned to the mutilated corpses.  
  
"Victoria...Sarah...," she stuttered. "I will not let you death be in vain..."  
  
Kristin sobbed. "Rest in peace..."  
  
The two turned and ran as the army of the undead stumbled after them, adrenaline rushing through their bodies as they rushed into the janitor's room and slammed the door.   
  
***************  
  
NOTE: Ok, it might've been a bit short, but it was only the beginning. I'll keep working on it. All characters from Resident Evil, the game Resident Evil, and the settings, such as Raccoon City, are owned by Capcom. Rowan, Kristin, Victoria, Sarah, Mrs. Graylee, the other new characters, and other new setting are owned by me. 


	2. Chapter 2

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 2  
Bye: WIndra  
  
  
September 27, 1998  
  
Rowan crouched behind a couple of blankets Kristin and her managed to find in the school janitor's room. Surprisingly enough, the janitor's room was large compared to the classroom in the building. It was a cold room with a cement floor, and the breeze blew in from a crack in the wall. A dumpster sat on the opposite wall from them, and to their right was a small ramp that led to a double door, which, thanfully, had been locked when they ran in.   
  
Kristin and Rowan had fled into the janitor's room when the monsters, or rather zombies, had invaded the school. Their best friends, Sarah and Victoria, were eaten alive by the creatures. Kristin and Rowan had spent the night in the janitor's room, listening to the howls of the hungry, decaying zombies that clawed at the door, wanting to feast on the fresh meat that was inside the room. They hardly got any sleep at all, and if they got even a half-hour worth of sleep, they were lucky. The zombies never left, but never got in because the door that Kristin and Rowan had run through was locked by the two.  
  
Rowan hugged the blanket that was around her shoulders. A soft sob erupted next to her, and she turned to see Kristin burying her head in her hands, crying out in the pain of loosing two comrades. Rowan couldn't blame her, because last night, all she could think about was a surge of guilt rushing through her because of the deaths of Victoria and Sarah, the deaths of hundreds of other students and teachers...  
  
Silently, she crept up to her best friend, one hand clutching the blanket, which was wrapped firmly around her, and the other softly touching Kristin's shoulder.  
  
"Kristin," she said, silently, "we'll get out of here. We'll find out what happened in this city that made those things go after our buddies. We'll do it, and we'll live."  
  
Kristin looked up, her eyes red and looking puffed.  
  
"W-We'll do our best," she managed to say. "But what ab-about mom...about d-dad?"  
  
Rowan frowned, gazing at the ground as if she had found something interesting to look at.  
  
They had found a pay phone in the janitor's room yesterday, and Rowan had tried it first, dialing her home phone number. It went through, and her mother piced up the reciever, her voice frantic. She heard a yell in the background, her father's yell, and gun shots being fired. She remembered the conversation on the phone almost perfectly.  
  
******  
  
"H-Hello?!" her mother yelled as she picked up the phone. "Who is it?!"  
  
"Mom!" she shouted, the joy exploding from her when she heard her mother's voice.  
  
"Rowan! Oh my God, are you all right?!"  
  
"I'm fine. Our school was..."  
  
BAM!!  
  
A gunshot in the background, followed by a gurgling moan.  
  
"Your school was overrun, right?"  
  
"Yeah. Are you all right?! What's going on over there?!"  
  
A scream echoed in the background, her father's scream, and she heard the soft crunching of his flesh being eaten by the monsters.  
  
"Honey...I wan't you to know...that no matter how many fights we've been in...no matter what we say t each other...I have...and always will...love you. Please...take care of yourself...survive..."  
  
The phone was dropped ot the ground as she heard another body fall to the ground and more crunching. A low moan echoed through the phone.  
  
"Mom?! MOM!"  
  
There was a crash that meant a zombie had crashed into the phone, knocking it down as it crashed into the floor.  
  
"MOM!! NO!!"  
  
The phone was dead.  
  
******  
  
Rowan closed her eyes, frustration seeping into her mind.  
  
"Mom...," she murmered silently, tears rolling down her cheeks. She had wanted to see her family again before anything happened, but now, she didn't want to go back to her home to find their dead bodies.  
  
Kristin looked over. She knew what happened because of Rowan's frantic screaming. She looked down silently, wondering if her family was okay. When she heard Rowan's yells, she was afraid the same thing would happen to her family.  
  
They both fell silent, both of them deep in thought-  
  
-and a loud hissing erupted from above.   
  
Kristin and Rowan looked up at the same time to hear the click of talons on the ceiling above them.  
  
"What the...," Rowan murmered.  
  
CRASH!!!  
  
The cieling cracked, and slowly, caved in. It blew apart as if something above it weighed so much that the cieling couldn't hold it. The debris flew everywhere. A piece of metal stabbed Rowan in the left arm, but the wound bled lightly, showing that it didn't go in too deep. She pulled the metal out of her arms with her right hand and flung it across the room. Kristin was more seriously injured, a sharp piece of cement had landed on her leg, probably breaking the bone. She whimpered, and Rowan rushed over t help her-  
  
-but a loud roar erupted in front of her. Something stod in front of her, blocking the way. She looked up, and gasped.  
  
The thing in front of her resembled a giant bug of some sort, but the similarity ended there. It's sking was yellow. Some patches of its sking were missing, revealing rubbery muscle and dry blood. It had two, beady yellow eyes that stared at her visciously, and it looked as though its brain had grown, because the head had more weight and mass to the back of its skull, where the exposed brain, covered in fleshy skin, sat. It had four arms, each ending with long, curved claws. On its shoulders were two more arms, each equipped with a long, curved talon. It almost beak-like mouth opened wide, snapping as though it wanted Rowan to stay back.  
  
Growling, it turned to Kristin and let out a loud bellow. One of its hooked claws grabbed her, the sharp claws digging into her flesh as she was hoisted up.  
  
"NO! KRISTIN!"  
  
Rowan leapt to grab Kristin, but the monster leapt back into the hole in the cieling, bringing her best friend with it. Kristin looked down, her eyes wide and her face pale. She stretched her arm down to Rowan as if trying to grab her. Rowan stretched her arm, and the monster screeched.  
  
"ROWAN!" Kristin cried as the monster galloped away into the hole.  
  
"KRIIISTIIIIINNNN!!" Rowan yelled out, collapsing onto her knees, her head buried in her hands.  
  
***************  
  
Rowan sat in the same spot for a couple of hours, waiting for the creature to come back and take her life as well. But it didn't come back, it didn't make the silent approach to grab her. Rowan looked up.  
  
"C'mon, come back...," she murmered silently.  
  
It was around 6:00 A.M., September 28.   
  
She was alone, now. No one would come to talk to her, no one would help her with the ordeals she was facing now. She was alone, friendless like when she first came to school. Except, it was in a different way. She had friends, but they were killed when they were near her. First Victoria, then Sarah, and now Kristin. All of her best friends...dead...devoured by some insane, mindless monsters.  
  
She had lost all will to live, and she now waited for the monster to come back...but a voice was ringing in her ears.   
  
i"Live!"i  
  
Sarah's words. The words her friend told her before she was killed.  
  
i"...take care of yourself...survive..."i  
  
Her mother's last words, her final wishes, before she was devoured by the undead. Her mother had wanted her safe...she didn't want Rowan to be killed.  
  
"Oh man, mom...what would you be saying to me, now?"  
  
She would have been telling her not to give up, to keep living her life.  
  
She had to live. She had to fulfill Sarah and her mother's last words. She had to live. She wouldn't fail them, she couldn't. She had to get out of the school, out of the town, and live.  
  
Silently, she stood up, tugging the jacket she had been able to grab out of a classroom around her, and walked down the ramp, pushing the door open.  
  
***************  
  
NOTE: So, what'cha think? I'll be writing a lot, especially since its the weekend. You'll be seeing the characters from RE3 in the next chapter. 


	3. Chapter 3

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 3  
By: Windra  
  
  
The breeze outside was cold as Rowan opened the door outside. She tugged her jacket tighter around her as she surveyed the streets in the back of the schools.  
  
There were very few zombies outside, showing that almost all of the creatures had moved to the front of the school where more kids were probably trying to get out. She heard screams fill the air as the monsters tore into human flesh. Rowan winced, the screams echoing into her body.   
  
An acrid smell was in the air, the smell of decay and smoke. Rowan wrinkled her nose as she caught a wiff of something that smelt like chemicals. She looked over at the streets behind the school to see some of the buildings on fire, collapsing and burning as black smoke curled into the air. Some of the cars were either overturned, unused, or crashed someplace. Rowan saw a pile of three cars nearby, showing that the drivers just plowed into each other because they were probably in hysterics.   
  
Even though it was morning, it was too early for the sun to be out. It was only 6:00, and there was no sign of the glimmer of sunlight. The smoke would block most of the sunlight out when the sun did rise. It would be dark, and now she cursed to herself for not bringing a flashlight from the janitor's room.  
  
The zombies were heading towards Rowan, shuffling at a slow pace. Their arms were outstretched as they walked towards her. About half of the zombies were students, children who had been attacked and never done being eaten. The others were either teachers or civilians.   
  
iJesus, what made them like this?/i  
  
She began to run down the road as zombies shambled up to her. The ones that were close to her were lagging behind because of their lack of speed.  
  
iDeadly, but slow. I can just outwalk 'em./i  
  
She slowed to a walk and headed down the street as more monsters crawled out of alleys and cars. Some walked out of fires, their body a blazing inferno. Rowan gazed at the streets, her mind thinking. She needed a weapon if she was to get out of this city alive. The monster that had killed Kristin surely wasn't the only mutation. There had to be more hanging around, and she didn't want to face one unarmed. But where would she find a weapon store?  
  
iKendo's! That guy's got some weapons./i  
  
Rowan turned to face the school, her thoughts turning to sorrow. So many people had died. Victoria, Kristin, and Sarah, her parents...and so many others. She looked up at the sky for a minute.  
  
"I'll find out what did this... I'll avenge your deaths."  
  
Rowan turned to see how far away the zombies were. Less than 10 meters. They must've gained on her while she was thinking.   
  
"Damn," she growled. Rowan turned to the street and began to walk down it, saving her the energy so she could run if she needed to.  
  
She turned to the left at the corner, and headed down the street. Kendo's was a little further down.  
  
*********  
  
Rowan arrived in front of Kendo's Gun Shop a few minutes later. She peered through the glass, but saw nobody inside. Sighing, she opened the wooden door and stepped into the shop, closing the door behind her.  
  
The guns were stacked neatly in a glass case behind the couter in front of her. To the left were some ammunition boxes stacked in the corner behind another counter. She turned to the door and looked out the two huge glass windows, and, seeing no monsters coming, headed to the guns.  
  
"Freeze!" yelled a voice, a man's voice.   
  
A man jumped up from behind the counter where the guns were. Rowan noticed that he must have been loading his gun because he was holding clips in his left hand. He held a Remington shotgun in his right hand, and was pointing it at Rowan. The man had on a white shirt stretched over his potbelly, and he wore baggy denim jeans. He had very short brown hair, as well. It was obvious who he was...Robert Kendo, the gun shop's owner.  
  
"Hold on! Don't shoot!" Rowan cried, her hands in the air. "I'm not a monster!"  
  
Kendo looked at her with uneasy eyes, then lowered the gun, walking out from behind the counter to face her.  
  
"I'm sorry, kid. As soon as you walked in, I thought you were one of them."  
  
"Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault."  
  
Kendo looked at her.  
  
"I'm Kendo... What are you still doing in the city?"  
  
"I'm Rowan. I was stuck in my school for the past two days after it got overrun. My parents were...were..."  
  
Kendo raised a hand to signal her to stop.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I understand."  
  
Rowan sighed, shoving her hands into her pockets.  
  
"I'm trying to get out of the city. But I don't know how long I'll be able to last unarmed..."  
  
He smiled suddenly.  
  
"You need a weapon?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Kendo smiled and motioned for Rowan to follow him as he headed to the counter. Underneath the counter were small handguns. Berettas, mostly.  
  
"Here, pick one of them," Kendo said. "The larger ones are heavier, and they'll be bound to slow you down a bit."  
  
Rowan gazed at them, her mind wondering. She looked at each gun, then up at Kendo.  
  
"How about a Beretta, if its okay," she asked.  
  
"No problem," he said, bending over to pick one of the guns up and handed it to her, as well as a holster belt that she tied around her wast. A small pouch was on the belt.   
  
Kendo walked over to the ammo crates and picked up a handful of clips, around six or seven in all. He handed them to Rowan, who stuck them inside the pouch almost immediantly.  
  
"Berettas," he murmered. "That's what the S.T.A.R.S. team were issued with in the beginning. I hope you get out of this city okay."  
  
"Speaking of city," Rowan began, "what happened to this place?"  
  
"I dunno. By the time I noticed something was wrong, the whole city was infested with zombies."  
  
Rowan nodded.  
  
"Is there a safe spot in the city?"  
  
"The R.P.D. was suppose to be gathering up the survivors. Maybe they're still there."  
  
"Alright."  
  
Rowan walked to the door again, then looked over her shoulder.  
  
"Wait, what about you?" she asked.  
  
Kendo shook his head.   
  
"I'm staying here. There may be others out there who need help. I'll stay till the end to equip the survivors."  
  
"That's bravery."  
  
Kendo grinned.  
  
"I'll see you around, Mr. Kendo," Rowan said as she turned towards the door. "Good luck."  
  
"See you, Rowan," Kendo replied. "May God be with you."  
  
Rowan turned and waved, then headed out of the gun shop. She had an odd feeling that Kendo might not make it out alive, but she pushed the thought out of her head.  
  
iNext stop, the R.P.D./i  
  
*********  
  
Rowan walked into a small alley she found through a door. It was dark and cold, and the smell of decay washed over her. She wrinkled her nose at the smell, peering down the alley. A flight of stairs to the left led to a cafe, and ahead of her, the alley split into two. She looked down the stairs and saw three bodies of zombies who had been shot a couple of times. Someone had obviously came through.  
  
Whoever did come through, it was doubtful that they would stay in the cafe. The monsters would smell fresh blood and head their way. The person or people probably headed to another place, maybe the R.P.D. Rowan prayed silently that whoever came through there was at the police station. She didn't want to be the only person to survive the city.  
  
Silently, she walked to where the alley split in two. One of the two caught her attention. The alley was red due to the red lightbulb on the side of the building. She looked at the ground and saw footprints in the dirt. Looking up, she saw the door open slightly. The person had positively gone this way.  
  
Rowan walked up to the door and pushed it open. It creeked silently as it opened to reveal another alley. To the left, a blazing inferno was taking place. She continued to walks straight ahead, and noticed a bloody body on the ground. The body was a dog, a doberman, to be exact.  
  
It was identical to the zombie's because of its appearance. The flesh had fallen off in some places and its white eyes were propped open. One of its ears had been torn off to reveal the shimmering bone of the skull. It's teeth were bloodstained and some blood was caked on its black fur.  
  
Rowan sighed and shook her head. Whatever had did this to them, it could do it to anything. Humans were turned into zombies, dogs were turned into mindless, blood-thirsty hell hounds. Maybe the thing that took Kristin really was part insect.  
  
Rowan looked around, her eyes spotting another door at the end of the alley. She began to walk towards it, but stopped abruptly when she heard the padding of feet behind her.  
  
i"Aroooooooo!"/i  
  
The girl spun around, looking at the fire as a dog lept out, landing in front of her. Her heart wrenched in fear as she turned away, trying to make it to the door. She felt like she was being pulled back. She turned her head to see that the dog had grabbed onto the back of her jacket.  
  
Thinking quickly, she slid her arms out of the jacket and it fell to the ground. The dog dropped it, then looked up at her, preparing to leap...  
  
BAM!  
  
Rowan had pulled out her gun before it leapt, firing a bullet into the beast's skull. It yelped, either in pain or anger, and fell back, it's body limp as it died in its own blood.  
  
Rowan was shaking all over from fear as she stumbled backwards, her back hitting the door. She just brushed death and lived. Rowan turned to the door and opened it with shivering hands, only to reveal a street, piled up with cars to her right. She walked into the open, the heat warming her slightly, and she froze when she heard the creak of a gate to her left.  
  
iThe R.P.D.!/i  
  
She ran to the police station and faced what looked like a small garage next to the main entrance. Sighing, she climbed over the fence and landed in front of the garage. Some trees stood before her, leading her to the entrance of the police station. Next to her, a police car was crushed against the building, smoke coming from its engine. Rowan looked through the trees to make sure it was clear, and heard two voices talking.  
  
"J-Jill...," said a man's voice. Judging by the tone, he was freaked out by what was going on.  
  
Rowan looked to see a man with army cut brown hair stumbling forwards. He was wearing green camoflouge pants, a white tee-shirt, and a yellow vest. Rowan spotted that on the one sleeve of the white tee-shirt, it read S.T.A.R.S.  
  
A woman was in front of the entrance to the police station. She had shoulder-length brown hair. She wore a light blue shirt that went to her underarms and a black skirt. A white sweatshirt was tied around her waist.  
  
"Brad?" she asked, turning around.  
  
"We gotta-"  
  
A loud roar echoed through the air, chillin Rowan to the bone.  
  
A huge monster leapt in front of Brad and growled. The thing was six feet tall at the least. The skin was rotting and a purple tentacle sat inside the monster's shoulders around its neck as though they were implanted there. The lips seemed to be removed so that the teeth were exposed, making it look like a wide grin. Its right eye was sewn over, and the left eyes was soulles and white. It wore a black trenchcoat and black fingerless gloves that went up to its elbow on the right arm and up to its shoulder on the left arm.   
  
Brad screamed and ran to the gate, pushing against the building. Jill screamed and backed away, her mouth open in shock. The monster turned to Brad and walked over to him, grabbing him by his neck with its left arm as it rose its right hand. The hand began to sputter purple blood as if something were about to emerge from the skin.  
  
Rowan herself was in shock. Her eyes widened, but she stood up, shakily, about to make her way to help-  
  
-and something hissed behind her. She turned quickly to see that the noise was coming from the crashed cop car. The engine that was overheated was now on fire, the flames licking the side of the car and the ground. Rowan looked at the ground, and her eyes widened when she saw a puddle of fuel had leaked out of the engine. The flames slowly made its way towards the puddle.  
  
"Oh n-"  
  
-BOOM!!  
  
The fuel and the fire met, and the car exploded, sending Rowan through the air and into a heavy bulk. Her back hit the person or thing behind her, and she crashed to the pavement. She felt some blood drip from her elbows because they were the first thing to hit the ground, and they hit the ground hard.   
  
Blinking, Rowan sat up slowly. Her vision was a bit blurred, so she blinked some more. Something was to her right, either human or not human. She blinked again, and her vision became clear. She looked to her right, and gasped.  
  
The monster she saw was standing right next to her, glaring at her angrily. It had dropped the man, who was now sitting against the building with a look of shock on his face, because Rowan had flown into the creature. That forced the monster to drop the man.   
  
Slowly, the creature raised its left arm, ready to pummel her six feet under, and then its fist came crashing down. Rowan crawled backwards and out of the way, barely missing the monster's fist as it made contact with the pavement, cracking the area where the fist landed in two.  
  
iChrist, that could have been me./i  
  
The monster roared in frustration as Rowan slowly made it to her feet. The creature lumbered towards her, its left fist raised.  
  
"Stars...," it growled.  
  
Rowan looked at it, shocked to see that it could say something, then looked left and right. The woman was now drawing a handgun, pointing it at the creature. The man was also starting to stand, pulling another handgun out and pointing it at the monster.  
  
The creature dashed at Rowan, and she dodged to the right as the monster brought its fist down where her head was. The two people fired while it was running, and missed because of its speed.  
  
Rowan looked to her right to see a small alley on the side of the building. Not thinking, she dashed down the alley. She stopped, and her eyes widened as she saw the alley come to a dead end. She stopped, and turned around slowly. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. She could feel terror racing through her veins as she saw the lurching beast head her way.  
  
Rowan blinked, and everything seemed to be going in normal speed. She looked at the door of the R.P.D. and saw the two people standing there, yelling for her to run for it. Going by instinct, she crouched on the ground just the monster ran in front of her. She got on all four and crawled under its legs, then stood up again.  
  
The monster roared behind, and Rowan could hear it turning around to go after her again. Gritting her teeth, she ran with all her remaining strength to the door of the R.P.D., and she could hear the monster right behind her.  
  
iFive feet away, almost there...C'MON!/i  
  
Rowan arched her back as she ran so she could gain more speed, and then leapt for the door. She felt air brush past her legs as the monster swiped at her, but missed. The two people ran inside the building, waiting. Rowan landed inside of the station and she got to her feet, rushing to the door to help the other two people push the door shut. They kept pushing on it even when it was closed because the creature was ramming into the door with all of its strength. However, because of the weight of three people holding the door closed, it wouldn't open. The monster roared in anger.  
  
"Stars!" it yelled as they heard heavy footsteps walk in front of the door, pacing.  
  
They were safe, for now. 


	4. Chapter 4

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 4  
By: Windra  
  
  
Quick note: *'s mean static  
  
  
  
Rowan was slumped against the wall of the R.P.D. station, the other two people gazing around the room. The wound Rowan had received the previous day in the janitor's room was bleeding again, opened because of the encounter with the monster outside. She clutched it with her other hand, looking around the room for something to wrap around it, then spotted a shirt lying in the corner. She cocked an eyebrow, amazed by the luck, and reached over for it, picking it up and tearing off a piece of cloth to tie around her left arm, wiping the blood from her hand on the remnants of the tattered shirt. Sighing, she stood up, taking a deep breath and looking around the entrance to the R.P.D.  
  
It was huge. The floor was made out of marble. In front of them was a fountain of a woman holding a pail, and on either side was a ramp. Further forward, a door sat to the left, while the others doors were barricaded with pieces of wood from other table. Surprisingly, the lights still worked, even though some of the phones in the city were dead. To the right of the door was a receptionist's counter, and a computer sat on the counter. The power was still on for that.  
  
Rowan silently walked up to the fountain, peering around the building. The man was over at the wall by the door, leaning against the wall, his face pale with shock. The woman was investigating the inside of the building.  
  
"Erm...," Rowan started.  
  
The two people jumped when someone broke the silence and looked over to her. The woman smiled and walked down the ramp to the left. She nodded.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Um, who are you guys?"  
  
The woman smiled.  
  
"Oh, sorry about that."  
  
"No problem."  
  
"The name's Jill Valentine, former S.T.A.R.S. member."  
  
The man by the wall nodded and tried to stand up straight.  
  
"Brad Vickers, used to be a pilot for S.T.A.R.S."  
  
Rowan decided it was her turn to speak.  
  
"I'm Rowan Naton, student from Middle School North..."  
  
Jill looked up and nodded, holstering her gun when she realized that she was still holding it.  
  
"Nice to meet you."  
  
Rowan nodded, her gaze fixing on the room around her. She looked over her shoulder to see Brad shuddering slightly as he walked down the steps in front of the door to meet them.  
  
"You all right?" Rowan asked.  
  
He nodded, taking a deep breath.  
  
"Shaken up, but fine."  
  
Rowan gave a weak smile. "I don't blame ya. Half of my school was...freaked out when everything started..."  
  
She broke off, her gaze looking down towards the floor as silence once again took over. This time, Jill decided to break it.  
  
"There's gotta be a way out of this city," she murmered. "Maybe an airport, a helipad, or something."  
  
"There's a helipad on the roof," Brad cut in. "But from the way the place looks now, the helicopter's probably already gone."  
  
"There's an airport on the other side of town," Rowan said. "I don't know if there are any planes left, though."  
  
Jill frowned.  
  
"There has to be a way. Some civilians had to have made it out somehow, and the police should have provided transportation... There has to be a rescue squad or something coming to the city to find other survivors."  
  
"Speaking of the city, though," Rowan began. "What happened? I was in school, and everything went berserk."  
  
Jill looked over to Rowan and then to the floor. She took a sigh.  
  
"It's a long story," Brad said.  
  
"It'll be kind of confusing, but bear with me," Jill sighed. "Just don't go thinking that I'm crazy at the end and that it's a lla lie."  
  
"If being chased by zombies was a lie," Rowan told her, "I'd be in an asylum by now."  
  
Jill smiled and Brad snickered. Jill took a deep breath.  
  
"Here it goes..."  
  
"Three months ago, in June, cannibal murders started occuring outside the city. According to the papers, the bite marks on the bodies were formed by human and/or canine jaws. I think about seven or ten came around, and S.T.A.R.S. was sent out to investigate what was going on about a month later. We were told to go into the area and try to find the murderers, but we didn't know what was about to happen.  
  
"The S.T.A.R.S. team was divided into two groups. The Alpha team had me, Brad, Barry Burton, Rebbecca Chambers, Joseph Frost, Chris Redfield, and...," she paused, her eyes flashing with anger, "Albert Wesker. The Bravo team had Rebbecca Chambers, Enrico Marini, Forest Speyer, Kenneth Sullivan, and Richard Aiken. The Bravos were sent in first, but we lost contact with them, and our team was sent in. We found the Bavos helicopter downed close to the mansion nearby...the Spencer estate.  
  
"Nobody was in the helicopter, and Joseph found something in the grass...a severed hand holding a gun. He yelled out, and a pack of undead dogs came out of the woods, chasing us down. They got Joseph, and then they went after us. We headed for the 'copter...but..."  
  
Brad took a turn talking. "When I heard the screamsI did the first thing that went into my mind and started to get off of the ground... I tried to contact them with the radio, but all I got was static."  
  
Jill continued, "So the rest of us fled to the mansion, only to find out that it was full of monsters...zombies, zombie dogs they called Cerberus, mutated frogs and lizards with claws called Hunters, giant spiders, a huge man-eating plant they named Plant 42, mutated monkey with deadly claws called Chimera, flesh hungry crows, and the Tyrant. The Tyrant used to be human, but had parts of its body removed and altered so it turned into a killing machine...  
  
"In the mansion, we found diaries and other documents that let us know what happened. We found out that the Spencer estate was now owned by Umbrella, and that a virus broke out, turning things into monsters. It was called the T-Virus, a mutagenic toxin designed by Umbrella to make bioweapons.   
  
"The T-Virus infected everything...plants, animals, humans... It took all humanity away from them-joy, fear, sorrow, love- and turned them into violent, blood-thirsty monsters...  
  
"Chris managed to find Rebecca, but the other Bravos didn't make it. Kenneth was eaten, Speyer was pecked to death by crows and joined the zombies' ranks, Richard was bitten by a giant, venemous snake, and was poisoned, and he died before I could give him the antidote. Enrico was shot down by someone we thought was on our side...Wesker.  
  
"It turned out Wesker was working with White Umbrella, a branch of Umbrella that specialized in bioweapons experiments. He had threatened Barry that he would have his men kill his family if Barry didn't cooperate, so Barry was forced to cover up for him. But when Barry overheard Wesker tell me that no one was outside of Barry's house to kill his family, he ran in and gave Wesker a smack on the head with his gun. Wesker soon came to his senses, sicked the Tyrant on us, and put a self-destruct sequence on the mansion, but was killed by his own creation in the process.  
  
"The Tyrant chased me, Rebecca, Chris, and Barry until we reached the helipad. Brad found the helipad and tossed us a rocket launcher when he saw the monster, which Chris used on the monster, killing it. The 'copter landed and we got on, and managed to leave before the mansion exploded...  
  
"Afterwards, S.T.A.R.S. was suspended because Chief Irons said that the mansion exploded because we quote and quote got drunk and lit a bonfire on the mansion. But we didn't stop. Rebecca met up with ex-S.T.A.R.S. members John Andrews, David Trapp, and a man named Steve and a woman named Karen, and they had gone to Caliban Cove in Maine to wipe out the Umbrella HQ there. There was another spill on the island, and Steve and Karen were killed. Rebecca, John, and David made it back in one piece.   
  
"I," Brad stammered, "I fled the city in fear that Umbrella would come do a search for us. I didn't coma back until late last night, when I decided I'd go help look for civilians."  
  
Jill nodded and look towards Rowan, whose mouth was wide open in surprise.  
  
"Umbrella...did...all of this? For bioweapons? And the virus...is it still active?"  
  
"For the first two questions, yeah," Jill said, solemnly. "I think the virus will still be active, but I heard Rebecca say that you can only get it by being getting an open wound from the carriers or by coming in contact with their blood..."  
  
"I never knew that that was what happened. If Umbrella created the T-Virus, they must be at work for something else, too. Maybe they're trying to make a new virus."  
  
Jill looked up.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"I'm guessing, but it's possible. If they did want to get rid of the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. members, they might have made that monster outside to do a cleansweep for them. It was even saying 'Stars'." Rowan looked up, deep in thought.   
  
Jill looked shocked, her eyes wide. Brad was gazing at the floor.  
  
"Umbrella," Brad cut in, "might be planning something. They're probably gonna send in their soldiers to wipe out the rest of the monsters...maybe even the other survivors. They wouldn't want anything to leak out that might give people hints to what's going on."  
  
Jill stood up, unholstering her handgun and looking around the chamber they were in.   
  
"C'mon," she said. "We've got to find a way out of here."  
  
Rowan and Brad nodded and stood up, unholstering their hanguns and following Jill. Brad looked over at the computer and walked over to it, pulling a wallet out of one of his pockets. He pulled out a S.T.A.R.S. I.D. card and slid it through the card scanner next to the computer.  
  
"What are you doing?" Jill asked.  
  
"Hang on..."  
  
Another window appeared on the copmputer, and words started typing across the screen. It read:  
  
'Checking...Access granted...'  
  
More typing appeared below it, typed by either Chief Irons or another cop.  
  
'To all S.T.A.R.S. members...Due to the incidents occuring in Raccoon, we have changed the lock number for the drawer in the evidence room. The new code is 3585...In another hour, the code will be changed...'  
  
Rowan looked at the screen, then to the door across the room.  
  
"Where's the evidence room?" she asked.  
  
"Should be through that door," Jill replied, pointing to the only door that wasn't barricaded.  
  
They made their way towards the door and opened it, immediantly greeting with the moans of the infected humans and the smell of decay. The group turned to face four zombies. They were all police. Three of them were standing, shambling and limping towards them, their uniforms torn and bloody as well as their skin. One of them was missing one leg, which, Rowan saw, had fallen off at the back of the room. The fourth was crawling on the ground towards them, its leg so decayed that the bone was exposed. Its legs were too weak for it to stand up.  
  
Jill was the first to fire on one of the standing ones, hitting it square in the forehead, causing it to fall to the ground with a low, gurgling moan. Brad shot another standing one at the temple, and it fell. Rowan raised her gun, shotting the last one standing in the eye before it fell, and Jill got the one on the floor.  
  
They got a good look at the room, and it looked like the room was in a tornado's path. Some tables and and benches were overturned. Pools of blood were on the ground, and bloody handprints were on the walls, where the crimson liquid dripped from the palms and down the wall. The lockers were either open or dented. There was an office to the right of the table in the center of the room, and they saw a pair of boots sticking out of the doorway.  
  
Walking up, they discovered that the boots were attatched to a man, who was lying dead on the floor. His dark skin had a shade of purple in it as though he had changed into the undead...which he probably did, because there was a bite mark in his chest and newer gunshot wounds in his right temple.  
  
Jill knelt down and picked up a small notepad on the ground beside him. She scanned it over quickly.  
  
"It's Marvin Branagh," she murmered silently. She shook her head sadly and began to read what was written on the pad.  
  
"September 24th. There are reports of a theft in the municipal building before dawn. A jewel  
decorated clock at the main gate was damaged. Two of twelve gems that are installed on the face of the clock are missing. Due to lack of available officers at this time, I have no choice but to suspend the research of this case. Signed, Marvin Branagh."   
  
"September 26th. Based upon an autopsy report of a 42 year old restaurant owner, I have  
discovered that he has one of the missing gems. He apparently took shelter in the police department at about 10 am, where he was shot to death within 10 minutes of having developed the symptoms. Since the city is currently under martial law, we are forced to suspend this case. At this time, we'll keep the gem as evidence. Signed, Marvin Branagh."  
  
Jill looked at the body and stood up. The silence was broken as the door in the main hall was being pounded, making them jump. That monster outside was pounding on the door again.  
  
"That thing's not gonna give up," Brad murmered.  
  
Rowan nodded in agreement, taking the used clip out of her Beretta and loading it with a fresh clip. Somehow, she thought that the monster wouldn't stay at that door forever.  
  
They began to walk through the next door, and found themselves in a room full of drawers. Two of them had red lights flashing on them, and Brad went to one.  
  
"Here it is," he said as he started to hit the numbers on the number pad. "3...5...8...5."  
  
There was a small chime as the light on the drawer shut off, and Brad opened it, picking up a small key with an emblem that read S.T.A.R.S. on it.  
  
"Since when did they start hiding the keys for the S.T.A.R.S. office?" he asked out loud.  
  
"Probably since the whole group got suspended," Jill answered.  
  
Rowan walked up to the second drawer and opened it, picking up a small blue gem. She held it up, showing it to the two S.T.A.R.S. members.  
  
"The gem from the report," Rowan murmered.   
  
"Hold on to it," Jill told her. "It might be important."  
  
Rowan nodded and stuck the gem in her pocket as they headed out of the room and out to the next door, only to be greeted by five zombies walking towards them, arms outstretched. Rowan held up her gun and fired at the first two, while Jill and Brad took out the remaining three. The undead fell to the ground, landing in their own pools of blood.  
  
"Aren't we the lucky ones?" Rowan said.  
  
"Yeah," Brad nodded, the color starting to come back into his face. "How'd they get in? The doors were barricaded..."  
  
"Maybe they broke through a window?" Jill said out loud.  
  
There was a door next to the one they just came through and a staircase heading up. Jill, Brad, and Rowan headed into the door to find themselves in a hallway. They began to walk down the hall when Rowan raised her hand for them to wait. She cocked her head, and heard a panting somewhere in the hall, as well as the padding of feet.  
  
"Cerberus," she whispered, and the other two quickly reloaded their guns.  
  
The noise stopped for a minute, and suddenly the undead dog came charging through, leaping through the air and just missing Jill's arm.  
  
They shot at it, but it was too fast for them to get the aim of its head. The dog turned around and growled, then ran at them, diving for Rowan, who ducked before it got her head, and it swung around when it landed. This time it dove for Brad, who missed it by a few inches and got a shot in it forepaw. The dog yelped and limped around to face them again, trying to leap, but not being able to because the bullet had broken the bone in its leg. This time, it charged on three legs at Jill, who fired at its skull, making the dog fly back, its body limp.  
  
The three reloaded their guns quickly, and Rowan listened to hear if there were any more, but the hall was silent. The group started down the hall and turned right, opening a pair of doors and stepping into an office.  
  
The first thing most of them noticed was the rows of chairs in the room. Some were toppled over, while other were misplaced. A stack of empty soda cans sad on the desks, and Jill walked up to the main desk, rumaging through the scattered papers. Rowan went into the room that ws next to the desk to find desks and chairs stacked on top of each other. There was a photo of a woman hanging over a fireplace in the corner, and it looked like a small hole had been burned through it. Brad was looking around, mainly looking over the reports on the desks.  
  
"Well, well, well," Jill said, breaking the silence.  
  
"What is it?" Rowan asked, walking out of the other room.  
  
Jill held up a card similar to the one Brad had, except her photo and information was on it.  
  
"My S.T.A.R.S. card. Irons took it from me after the Spencer accident."  
  
"Hey, we've got the key to the S.T.A.R.S. office," Brad said. "Should we go check it out? For all we know, the clips and things are still there."  
  
"Good point," Jill replied. "We need the ammo. I've got four clips left. How many do you have left."  
  
"Three," Brad inquired.  
  
"Four," Rowan responded.  
  
Jill picked up the card and slid it into her wallet, then walked towards the door.  
  
"Let's go, but keep an eye out."  
  
They headed out of the office and back into the hall, following the path back to the area where the stairs were. They walked up the first flight and came to a landing, then turned to see three zombies shambling towards them. One of them stopped at the stairs and looked down, its moanexhoing through the halls.  
  
"Good things zombies can't climb or descend stairs," Jill said softly.  
  
The zombie lurched forward, placing its foot on the top step and the other foot on the next one, slowly making its descend.  
  
"They can, now," Brad answered before shooting at it, sending the zombie collapsing on the stairs and rolling to their feet.  
  
"Lovely," Rowan said in disgust, kicking away the body with her foot.  
  
They shot the other two down with ease and slowly made their ascend, making sure that there were no zombies awaiting for a sneak attack.  
  
The hall was empty, and Jill turned toward Rowan, shaking her head.  
  
"You should stay here, it might be dangerous," she whispered.  
  
Rowan grinned. "And all the other things we saw weren't? I'll stay and keep a lookout in case anything decides to come out."  
  
Jill nodded and walked towards the door, followed by Brad. They walked through, closing the door behind them, and Rowan turned to look down the stairs. She shuddered and leaned against the wall. She hated it when this happened...alone in a cold and eerie hallway, being scared to death by a feeling that something would pop out of the dark corners and attack. The knowledge of zombies hanging around the building only made it worse.  
  
Rowan froze suddenly. There was the pounding of footsteps somewhere outside the window on the bottom floor. The footsteps stopped a the window in front of the bottom stairs, and a huge, abnormal fist pounded through the glass. Rowan stood still, her heart pounding in her chest and her feet rooted to the spot. Her mouth felt like it was superglued together, keeping her from yelling for help.   
  
Less than a minute later, a huge bulk leapt through the window, shattering the glass as a huge form landed on the marble floor, wearing a black trenchcoat and at least six to seven feet tall.  
  
iThe monster from outside...i  
  
It looked up, staring Rowan in the eye as it picked up something that was on the ground...a long, smooth barrel with a hole at each end.  
  
i Oh SHIT! A rocket launcher?!i  
  
The monster gave out a huge roar and stood at the foot of the steps, and Rowan yelled out for help. She began firing at the monster, trying to shoot at the head, but the creature blocked them off when it covered its face with its tremendous arm. It pointed the launcher up at Rowan, and loaded a rocket into the the hole at the back of the barrel. The launcher powered up, and the rocket was sent flying into the air, directly at Rowan.  
  
She dodged to the left quickly, just missing the rocket as it flew towards her.  
  
BOOM!  
  
It hit the wall where she stood, leaving a black, gaping hole in the wall. Disgruntled and angry at missing its target, it roared again and charged up the stairs.  
*********  
  
While Brad was in the hallway infront of the S.T.A.R.S. office, Jill was inside the S.T.A.R.S. office, gazing at the desks, smiling weakly. She had gathered some clips from the metal closet to the right of the door. Being in this place brought a lot of memories. At the back of the room was Rebecca Chamber's desk, and boxes were stacked next to it. After that was Chris' desk, which pretty much looked like a disaster area. Papers were in miscellaneous places, some were on the floor, while others were scattered on the desk. In front of that was another desk, where Jill sat. In the very front of the room was the captain's desk- Wesker's desk. On the wall behind it was a group photo of the S.T.A.R.S. members, Bravo and Alpha team alike. A helicopter was in the background, and Wesker stood on the side, his eyes being concealed with a pair of sunglasses.  
  
In the back of the room was a communications setup where Brad worked at, and left to the door was a desk that had the fax machine and printer. Some faxes were on the desk, including a faz from Kendo's shop and a reply to Chris' letter. Jill turned and caught something shining on Chris' desk. She walked over to it, and saw a lockpick on the desk. Chris said he wanted to try to learn how to use a lockpick, so Jill let him borrow hers. She picked it up and put it into her pocket, thinking that it may come into use later. As she picked it up, she moved a book by accident, and found a small green book titled 'Chris' Journal'. She picked it up and scanned through it, stopping at one page... It read:  
  
'August 8th  
I talked to the chief today once again, but he refused to listen to me. I know for certain that Umbrella conducted T-virus research in that  
mansion. Anyone infected turns into a zombie.  
  
But the entire mansion went up in that explosion; along with any incriminating evidence. Since Umbrella employs so many people in town,  
no one is willing to talk about the incident. It looks like I'm running out of options.  
  
August 17th  
We've been receiving a lot of local reports about strange monsters appearing at random throughout the city. This must be the work  
of Umbrella.  
  
August 24th  
With the help of Jill and Barry, I finally obtained information vital to this case. Umbrella has begun research on the new G-virus, a variation of the original T-virus. Haven't they done enough damage already?!  
We talked it over, and have decided to fly to the main Umbrella HQ in Europe. I won't tell my sister about this trip because doing so could put  
her in danger.  
  
Please forgive me Claire.'  
  
Jill sighed and put the book back down on the desk. They had gone to Europe and Jill was going to meet them there, but she was in Raccoon City before she left...and while she was there, the T-Virus broke out. She began to walk to the door when she heard the communications device start to beep. She moved towards it, and a voice broke through.  
  
"Hello?***This is Carlos***Platoon is down***no survivors found***copy?***"  
  
Jill was overwhelmed with joy when she heard that someone else was alive. She didn't know how to work the device, and she was about to get Brad and ask him to respond to the person, but she froze when she heard noises coming from the room Rowan was left in...  
  
"Rooooaaaar!!"  
  
"Help!"  
  
Bambambambam!  
  
BOOM!  
  
"Rooaar!"  
  
iThat roar...oh no...i  
  
Jill dashed out of the door and to the door that led to where Rowan was, and saw Brad do the same. Jill burst through first to see Rowan crouched on the floor as the monster from outside ran up the stairs, carrying something in its left hand...  
  
iOh Christ, a rocket launcher...i  
  
Rowan stood up and was now shooting at it, firing at the head, but the creature blocked it off with its arm and prepared to load the launcher-  
  
-but it stopped and turned where Brad and Jill stood, its eye narrowing.  
  
"Stars," it growled as it lumbered forward.  
  
"No!" Rowan yelled out, jumping up and starting to shoot at it again, making it turn around.  
  
As it did, it gave Jill and Brad enough time to run past it and over to Rowan. They swung around and saw the monster loading the launcher, but the three hurried and ran down the stairs.  
  
BAM!  
  
The rocket hit the flight of stairs behind them just as they got off, leaving it charred. The monster roared was about to leap down to get them.  
  
"RUN!" Jill cried, flinging herself at the evidence room door and shoving it open as Brad and Rowan ran in.   
  
She ran in to join them and shut the door. They began running to the other door, and heard the splintering of wood behind them as the monster broke the door down, not giving up its chase on them. They kept running, this time into the room where they found Marvin's body, and the monster followed, running as if it was on steroids.  
  
They made it into the main hall and ran to the entrance. They burst through and into the early morning air, then ran to the gate, shoving it open. The monster lumbered after them, pushing through the gate and chasing them as the group of three ran past the burning cars and to a rusty metal door. Jil pulled out her lockpik and went to work quickly on it, while Brad and Rowan were shooting at the creature in an attempt to slow it down.  
  
The monster was about a foot away when the lock to the door opened, and Jill pulled it open as Rowan and Brad dove for it and inside, Jill running in to join them and slamming the door behind her, locking it. The monster pounded on it and tried to turn the knob, but the door wouldn't open. Roaring, its footsteps moved away.  
  
"Stars...," it growled in a voice that faded as it moved away.  
  
Although they were safe for now, Brad, Jill, and Rowan doubted that it would be the last time they saw the creature. 


	5. Chapter 5

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 5  
By: Windra  
  
  
"Everyone...allright?" Jill asked, leaning against a wall, panting.  
  
Rowan was sitting against the wall, trying to catch her breath while Brad leaned against the other wall, arms on his knees.  
  
"Fine," Rowan gasped. "Almost...had a heart attack...but I'm okay..."  
  
"Pretty much...the same here," Brad said. "I never wanna see...that monster again..."  
  
"I think we can all agree on that," Jill stammered.  
  
"Hey, Jill," Rowan began, standing up and leaning on the wall, "did you find any clips?"  
  
Jill nodded, rumaging through a pocket that was in the sweatshirt tied around her waist. She pulled out six clips, handing two each to Rowan and Brad, holding on to two herself.  
  
"That was all I got...before that thing came..."  
  
Rowan nodded, putting the clips inside her pouch. She looked up and around the alley, noticing a fire hose bolted to the wall to her right. She walked up to it and gave a weak smile.  
  
"A fire hose bolted down," she murmered. "How convenient..."  
  
Jill rose a brow.  
  
"Looks like some of the firefighters were oddballs, maybe they gotinfected with something before the city did..."  
  
The three snickered a little. Jill looked up to find a door to the left of them. She walked towards it and motioned for the others to follow. Slowly, Jill nudged the door open, holding her handgun and scoping through the crack. As she opened the door, she was immediantly greeted by knashing fangs. She gave a surprised yell and slammed the door on the monsters snout. The tip of the snout with the nose fell off and on to the ground, and the dog inside gave a surprised yelp. Rowan rose a brow and Brad slapped his forehead.  
  
"Note to self," Brad murmered. "Never dress up as a dog for Halloween and knock on Jill's door."  
  
Rowan chuckled. Jill laughed a little, but straightened up as she clutched the handle. "Okay, you guys. Enough fooling around, let's go inside..."  
  
The two nodded and all three pulled their guns out of their holsters, waiting for the door to open. Jill kicked it hard, and the door flew open. The dog jumped out, its nose, or what was left of it, dripping with blood. For the first time, Rowan noticed that its fangs were needle sharp, and that if you just tapped one, your finger would be bleeding as soon as it touched it. Frowning in disgust, she aimed her weapon at the dog's skull and fired at the same time Jill and Brad did. The trio of bullets was too much, and dog collapsed on the ground.  
  
They walked through the door, silently and slowly, but heard no more panting, no more padding of feet. Relieved, they holstered their guns again, making their way through what looked like a garage. There were cars parked all along the garage. One of them was a van hooked up to a car with a power cable, showing that the van had stalled.  
  
On the other side of the room was a door, and as they walked up to it, something growled. Surprised, they dashed through the garage and pulled open the door, running in and slamming it behind them. There was a loud BANG as the dog that was chasing them jumped into the door. It had obviously tried to lunge at them before they closed the door, but failed miserably, ending up leaving a small imprint on the door. The dog growled and padded away.  
  
"Second one in a row," Brad grinned.   
  
"The undead dog smash-a-thon," Rowan smirked.  
  
Jill laughed, turning to inspect the door.  
  
"The thing must've waited for us to get in its path," she murmered, trying to hide her laughter.  
  
She shook her head and began to walk towards the other door, pushing it open, but nothing lunged or stumbled towards them. It was safe, and they walked towards the next door. As Jill touched the handle to open it, the ground rumbled slightly, rattling some of the car's, sending some of the car alarms off. It stopped about a second afterward, and the three of them exchanged glances.  
  
"What was that?" Rowan asked.   
  
"Couldn't have been an earthquake...," Brad replied. "Could it?"  
  
"No way," Jill murmered. "We'll have to find out later. Right now we've gotta get out of here."  
  
Worried, Jill pushed the door open, but no monsters came out to greet her. There was only silence. To the left was a resturaunt, and up further was another path. Jill shrugged and walked up to the resturaunt doors, pushing it open quietly. Brad and Rowan followed silently, guns unholstered.   
  
The resturaunt was empty. There wasn't even evidence that there had been any attacks inside the building. The only thing that suggested that somebody left in a hurry was some unfinished food left on the table. Other than that, the place was untouched. The tables in front of them was clean, except some food set on some of them. Ahead of them was a kitchen, and even that looked unscratched.   
  
The three of them scattered around the room, investigating the resturaunt. No signs of struggle, no broken glass, no blood splotches, no evidence that monsters attacked...yet, the place was silent, so silent that it felt eerie. Rowan shuddered and walked over to a table, finding a steak knife lying on a napkin. She picked it up and looked at it. The blade was thick and so was its handle, making it noticable that it wasn't a steak knife, it was a combat knife. She turned a little to see if the others needed it, but saw they each had a combat knife on their belts, and silently sheathed it in the knife sheath that was on her belt.  
  
Jill wandered into the kitchen, and Rowan and Brad followed, not finding anything that caught their interest. Silently, she walked to the edge of one part of the kitchen and saw a small cellar in the corner. She turned and saw a cabinet seated in another corner. Jill walked up to it and tried pulling at the handle, but it wouldn't budge, showing that it had been locked. Giving a weak smile, she took the lockpick out of her pocket and pried it open, revealing some jars of sauce and other things. Her smile widened when she saw a crowbar in the back, and she picked it up, walking back to the cellar and prying it open.  
  
The metal hatch opened to reveal a freezer, but the ice was melted, showing that it might have blown a fuse. Sighing in disappointment, she stood again, looking around the room-  
  
-and a sudden sound made Jill, Brad, and Rowan draw their guns at the entrance to the kitchen, only to see a man crouching behind the counter. He gave a weak smile and waved. Relieved, the three lowered their guns, but not completely.  
  
The man stood up slowly. He was wearing a green tee-shirt with short sleeves and a white tee-shirt was under it. He also had on baggy pants with a dark shade of white. Straps of ammunition were strapped to him, and an M16 was in his right hand. He had short brown hair.  
  
"Sorry 'bout that," he said in a voice that was accented with Spanish.  
  
"It's allright," Jill said, lowering her gun.  
  
"The name's Carlos Oliveira, nice to meet'cha."  
  
"Jill Valentine...," she said, careful not to mention her position in S.T.A.R.S. in case he was with Umbrella.  
  
Brad picked up on it, because he didn't mention the S.T.A.R.S. either. "Brad Vickers."  
  
Rowan looked at Carlos, nodding. "I'm Rowan Naton."  
  
"I'm really sorry about that," Carlos began. "I shouldn't have snuck up on you, but I didn't kn-"  
  
A load roar from outside of the door in the kitchen cut him off, a very familiar roar. On instant, all of them drew their weapons, and a huge monster rammed the door open, the one that Jill, Brad, and Rowan had encountered at the R.P.D. twice and was hunting the two S.T.A.R.S. members down.   
  
"Stars," it growled, lumbering into the kitchen.  
  
Its eye scanned the kitchen, its sharp teeth gritted in anger. It growled again when its eye came to a stop on them. Angry, it threw its arms into the air with a primordial roar and ran towards them.  
  
"How did it find us?" Jill asked out loud, but waisted no time dwandling.  
  
She and Carlos dived behind the counter and Rowan and Brad ran into the cellar as Jill lifted up an oil lamp. She grabbed a match from a nearby table and lit it, throwing it to the floor in the kitchen, then tossed the oil lamp in after it just as the hulking monster walks towards the counter-  
  
-BOOM!  
  
There was another roar from the monster as it collapsed onto the ground, its skin charred, but not nearly demolished. The kitchen was charred completely black, some of the utensils melting from the heat. Some of the wood on the counter was burned off, and most of the glasses in the area were broken. Wearily, Jill and Carlos stood again, Carlos muttering something quickly in Spanish.  
  
"What the hell was that?" he asked solemnly.  
  
"Something that's hunting Brad and I down," she murmered quietly.  
  
"Ah, hell," said a voice in the cellar, Rowan's, and she and Brad ran up the stairs, slamming the cellar door shut behind them.  
  
"What happened?" Jill asked, raising a brow.  
  
"Trap," Brad replied. "The water down there rose up to our knees the moment we got down there."  
  
"And its still going," Rowan replied. "Plus, there's a body down there."  
  
The body of the monster began to twitch suddenly, and the group backed up to the door where it entered. The creature growled suddenly, and, deep in surprise that the thing was still alive, the four of them ran through the door the thing plowed through, slamming it behind.  
*******  
  
The four of them stood outside of the door while Jill listened for any movement from the kitchen. It was completely silent. Maybe the monster stirred a bit, then fell unconcious again. The alley they were in led in two different directions. One led to their right and the other went directly ahead. Rowan watched as Jill shook her head and turned to Carlos.  
  
"I've got something to ask you," she said quietly.  
  
Carlos turned to her and grinned. "You're asking me out, right? All the ladies want to go with me, they can't resist the Spanish accent."  
  
Brad and Rowan screwed up their faces to keep from laughing, but were failing miserably as they saw Jill scowl at Carlos and turned to them, giving them the evil eye.   
  
"Dream on," Jill said, rolling her eyes as she turned back to the soldier. "Were you the same Carlos that was speaking on the radio?"  
  
"The one and only," he replied, still grinning, loving every minute of Jill's scowling and trying desperately to keep from laughing himself. "Wait...you heard? Why didn't you answer?"  
  
"I heard, but we couldn't answer because we were attacked at the moment. What happened?"  
  
He turned and looked up. "I was with the other soldiers. We ran out of reinforcements and were being attacked by those zombies. I'm with the U.B.C.S., the Umbrella Bio-Hazard Coutermea-"  
  
Jill cut him off, her eyes widening to the size of saucers.   
  
"You're with Umbrella?! They're the ones that did all of this!"  
  
"Hey hey hey, We were sent here to rescue civilians, not do any of this junk," he replied.  
  
"Did you knw about the T-Virus and the bioweapons Umbrella was creating?" Brad asked.  
  
Carlos roase an eyebrow. "Bioweapons? Nada, I don't know anything about that. We're just soldiers, we've got nothing to do with polotics."  
  
Jill began to calm down, taking deep breaths. She shot a 'If-you're-lying-I'll-kick-your-ass' look at Carlos, and paused, shaking her head.  
  
"I guess...Umbrella does keep secrets, and I guess even from their soldiers...sorry, its just that Umbrella and I aren't on good terms..."  
  
She turned away, and Rowan decided to cut in. "We're trying to find a way out of this city, but the helicopter for the R.P.D. is gone and we don't know if there are any planes left, let alone working cars."  
  
Carlos swung around, his face deep in thought. "I dunno if there's another way out, but there's gotta be a way." He turned around and looked down the alley they stepped in, then turned around again. "I'll go find out if there's another way. If I find anything, I'll find you and tell you. If I don't find anything, I'll still find you and tell you."  
  
Carlos turned and ran to the path ahead of them, then turned around and waved.  
  
"Adios!" he yelled as he turned and ran.  
  
Jill rose an eyebrow and turned to Rowan and Brad, who shrugged.  
  
"I hope he finds something," Rowan murmered.  
  
The other two nodded and walked down the stairs that were in front of the door, turning a right to see what they could find. A flock of crows watched from above, cawing with eagerness as their eyes flashed red, but fluttered away when a soft noise echoed through the air. But Jill, Rowan, and Brad didn;t hear it as they continued walking, and they didn't know that the monster that was in the kitchen was up and walking out the front door, narrowing its eye as it scoped around to find them.   
  
***  
  
A lot of talking, I know, but I'll do better in the next chapter 


	6. Chapter 6

bRaccoon City: Demon's Gate/b  
bChapter 6/b  
By: Windra  
  
  
The three of them, Brad, Jill, and Rowan had continued through the nightmarish dark, and each shadow seemed to be hiding something. Distant, mournful cries of the once human monsters filled the cold air. The alley they were walking through was dark and damp, papers and miscellanious materials laying carelessly in the area. Rowan could smeel the acrid smell of smoke and fumes in the air as a house burned a block down the street. It had to be around late afternoon now. Everything the group had gone through seemed to be only an hour or two, but the clock ticked faster than they thought.  
  
iMy, how time flies by when you're killing the undead in a ruined city.../i  
  
The alley started to widen as the area between the houses parted. and they continued through the area. Rowan was amazed at the lack of monsters in the area. Three zombies lingered to their left, but far enough away that the group didn't have to bother with them. A low hiss filled the air around them, and the three stopped, swinging around to meet the hungry yellow eyes of a monster behind them.  
  
A while after they had left the resturaunt where they met Carlos, they stopped to take a breather in an abandonned store with no windows, except the one in the door. There, Rowan told them of her ordeal in the school before she decided to leave it to find a way out of the city. She told them about how Mrs. Graylee was murdered by the first zombie, how more of the walking dead broke through the windows and killed her two friends, Victoria, and Sarah, and how Krisin and Rowan sought refuge in the janitor's room. She told them that, the next day, Kristin had been taking by a horrible monster...the monster that faced them now.  
  
Rowan heard Jill and Brad back up slowly, and she followed stance, not wanting to get swiped up by one of its lethal claws-  
  
-and it opened its mouth, letting out a loud, horrible roar that shook her bones, and Rowan saw something dangling from a bone inside of its mouth...  
  
iNo.../i  
  
A purse. Half of it was eaten away, while the other half stood dangling in its mouth. It was the same purse that Kristin had...  
  
Rowan froze, staring at the monster with anger and sadness welling up inside her. Her mind became colder than her body was, and her eyes met the yellow eyes of the creature in front of her.  
  
"You...," she growled as her right hand lifted the gun.  
  
The creature narrowed its eyes, lifting its head to grab her in its beak-like mouth as Rowan drew the Beretta and aimed at the monster's brain. Jill and Brad called out, their voices frantic. Jill spoke first.  
  
"Rowan, what're you-"  
  
BAM! BAM! BAM!  
  
The sounds of the gun and the furious roaring of the insane creature in front of her drowned out their voices. The monster was about to snap at Rowan, its mouth open and growling when the girl fired. The monster stopped before it was about to hit her, and Rowan saw blood ooze out of its forehead and its eyes glaze over as it fell to the ground, its body becoming limp.  
  
Silence fell throughout the alley, and only the distant moans of the zombies down the alley, too far away to gain up with them, could be heard. Silently, Rowan shook her head, turning to face her two alleys, who stood behind her, their faces pale.  
  
"What was that all about...?" Brad asked.  
  
Rowan glanced a look at the purse on the ground and at the monster, then sighed. "That thing and I weren't on the best of terms..." She trailed off, finding that her voice was cracking.  
  
Jill and Brad nodded, seeing that they shouldn't carry the subject further, and the three of them continued to walk. Rowan looked over her shoulder while walking to look at the monster that had taken Kristin's life, and shook her head.  
  
iRest in piece, Kris.../i  
  
*******  
  
They kept walking until the three of them found themselves in front of the gates that led to City Hall. Beyond the gates was a large building, wider and larger than the R.P.D. had been, towering over the tree that were planted out front. The lights were on inside, but Rowan doubted that anyone would still be alive. Even if there were survivors, they wouldn't be in the building. If that happened, the monsters in the area would smell fresh meat and head to the looming building, moaning and crying out for blood.  
  
Rowan shuddered as she gazed at the building, and saw Brad and Jill stare at it, as well. Something just wasn't right about the air around it, something that sent chills down her spine. She got bad vibes about the place, and she could feel that something was about to happen, but she didn't know what.  
  
Tearing her gaze away at the monstrous building, Jill turned to her left to see a podium-like shape built into the wall, its sides sticking out so it actually looked like half a podium had been cemented to the wall. On top of it was an engraving of something that looked like a clock, and they saw that there were small gems inside of it, positioned in areas of the clock that made it look like the gems were supposed to stand for numbers, but two gems were missing.  
  
Rowan suddenly found her hand flying through one of the pouches on her belt, her fingers grazing the items inside it until she found what she was looking for. She pulled her hand out, grasping the little blue gem the three of them had found in the R.P.D. Grinning, she handed it to Jill.  
  
"You were right," Rowan said. "This thing really was useful."  
  
"Yeah," Jill responded, turning back to the clock and smiling. "Looks like luck is finally on our side."  
  
She pushed the gem into one of the holes, and with a small click, it was back in place. Jill looked at the clock again, and her smile faded away.  
  
"Or not..."  
  
Brad suddenly knelt down, picking up something as Rowan and Jill walked to him and looked over his shoulder. He stood up a second later, a wide grin settling on his face.  
  
"Well," he said brightly, holding up a small, green crystal, "what're the odds of this?"  
  
Jill and Rowan smiled as Brad walked over and stuck the crystal in, and with a small click, it was inserted into place, and the gate to the City Hall swung open. Rowan laughed out in joy, and turned to Brad, getting on her knees and bowing. Jill and Brad laughed as she stood up again, struggling to keep her face straight-  
  
-and a low moan broke out in the distance, wailing for blood. They turned to the source of the sound and saw a pair of zombies heading their way, both of them cops.  
  
"Oh spoil the fun, why don't you?" Jill said out loud, firing a shot into one of the creature's skull.  
  
Rowan fired at one and pulled the trigger at the last one's skull, only to hear the click of the empty click. Frowning, she popped the empty clip out and stuck a new one in as Brad took out the second one. Silently, they walked into the path leading to the City Hall, gazing out at the corners. The ground here was slightly fertile and the tree shrouded most of the corners in shadows. To their left was a pile of burning cars, and in the corner next to them was a small manhole, and the other two turned to see it, nodding in silent agreement that if anything happened in the building, they could climb down there to make an escape.  
  
They began to walk to the large building again, their guns out and pointing at the shadows, looking around carefully to make sure that nothing was about to jump them, but they were wrong if they thought nothing was about to surprise them.  
  
A loud, inhuman screech filled the air, followed by another. Brad, Jill, and Rowan turned to hear two things running at them with incredible speed and the sound of claws scraping across the ground.  
  
Jill froze, her gaze slowly turning to meet Rowan and Brad's her face paler than Brad's had been when they first saw the S.T.A.R.S. hunter at the R.P.D. Her eyes were as wide as saucers, and she took a slow gulp as her mouth slowly opened.  
  
"H-Hunters," she stammered, her eyes blinking, raising her handgun slowly to meet the dangers that were about to lurk out of the shadows.  
  
Rowan turned and felt her blood run cold as she saw what Jill had mentioned.  
  
Two five and a half foot tall monster ran out of the shadows ahead of them. The things looked like a crossbreed between a frog and a human. They had forest green skin and long, muscular arms that stretched to the pavement of the path. Each arm was tipped with sharp, long, thick, and lethal claws, as were its feet. Their skulls were flat and shaped like an amphibians, and two small, beady yellow eyes stared out at them.  
  
Rowan somehow managed to hold back her scream as the two monsters darted towards them, their arms in the air as they lunged at their closest target, Jill. Jill dodged just in time as she and Brad ran for the doors of the City Hall, while Rowan stood rooted to the same spot, surprise and fear seeping into her blood. The two Hunters soared through the air and slammed into the pile of cars, then collapsed onto the ground. The cars began to tumble over, and, as the two monsters slowly began to get up, the pile toppled on top of the two beasts, crushing them.  
  
Rowan looked up at the way the cars had fallen. They were piled in such a way that it cornered her in the corner where the manhole was. Flames began to lick at the cars, but Rowan saw that there was no gas leaking from them. If she tried to clim up, the cars would either topple over and crush her, or she would be burned to death.  
  
She could hear Brad and Jill start to call out, running towards the burning wreck.  
  
"Rowan!" they yelled out, hoping for a response, not wanting her to be dead.  
  
"I'm okay!" Rowan responded, trying to sound hopeful so that they wouldn't worry.  
  
"Can you climb out?" Brad yelled.  
  
"No!" Rowan called back. "If I try to climb, the cars'll either fall and crush me, or I'll be burned to death! Its on fire over here, but no gas leaks! Keep going! The manhole's over here, and I can climb through it! I'll meet you once I get out!"  
  
"You sure you'll be alright?" Jill yelled through the crackling of the fire.  
  
"I'll be okay, but don't try to climb over! It's too dangerous!"  
  
Something flew over the side of the wreckage and at Rowan's feet. She kneeled over to pick it up, and discovered that it was a clip.  
  
"Take those!" Jill shouted. "Be careful, alright?"  
  
"Thanks!" Rowan yelled back. "I'll be careful, just take care of yourselves! Keep an eye out, especially for that monster!"  
  
"Good luck!" Brad called out. "We'll see you after you get out! Don't go dying on us!"  
  
"I won't, I promise!"  
  
"Take care!" Jill and Brad yelled in usion, and their footsteps began to run to the doors.  
  
"Same to you!" Rowan shouted. "Be careful!"  
  
Rowan heard the doors to the City Hall open and shut behind them, and she sighed, turning to the manhole and pulling the lid off. She drew her gun and slipped the new clip into her ammo pouch, and slowly made her descend into the cold darkness of the sewers. 


	7. Chapter 7

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 7  
By: Windra  
  
  
Rowan could smell the fould odor of rot and waste as she closed the lid of the manhole. Taking a deep breath, she slowly climbed down the ladder, clinging to the it with her left hand while her right hand held the Beretta tightly, scoping around the darkness for any movement. When her feet hit the cold, hard cement floor at the last rung of the ladder, Rowan swung around.  
  
The sewers were cold and dark, and every corner was concealed in shadows. The water in the man-made channel of the sewers directly to her left reflected off of the walls, making everything seemed to move. Distant moaning echoed through the corridors, making Rowan jump, the echoes of their once human cries seeming too close for comfort. Mentally, she cursed at herself for not bringing a flashlight.   
  
Slowly, Rowan edged to the only turn, which led to the right, with her back to the wall. Exhailing slowly, she spun around the corner, but nothing was there to greet her. The girl mentally crossed her fingers in hope that she wouldn't see anything in the sewers. However, her luck was extremely crappy for the past few days, and she doubted that she wouldn't encounter anything. The only good points she had was that she was alive and that she met two people she could trust...  
  
i God, I hope those two are allright...   
  
The Spanish accented man, Carlos, was a new face, and Rowan didn't know if he was trustworthy or not. Hopefully, he was. Umbrella owned the U.B.C.S., and Rowan prayed that they didn't send them to hunt down the survivors or others. She didn't know what the U.B.C.S.'s true objectives were, although they were supposed to be looking for survivors. Carlos did seem trustworthy, and the girl hoped that he would go against Umbrella. What she did know was that Umbrella somehow managed to program a monster to take out the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members in Raccoon City, in this case, it was hunting down Jill and Brad. Rowan shuddered, remembering how it had almost killed her and the other two back at the R.P.D.   
  
A low moan filled the corridor as a badly decayed virus carrier lurched into view, its arms outstretched. The lower half of its jaw was missing so that its tongue flopped loosely in what was left of its mouth. Rowan grimaced at the look of it and raised her gun, pulling the trigger and making a clean shot into the center of the zombie's forehead. It fell to the ground with a ghostly moan, and the girl continued through the sewers.   
  
The damp corridor split into two paths, one going to the left and one to the right. The moans from the distant zombies came from the left corridor.  
  
i If there are zombies to the left, maybe there's an opening they got through over there, which would mean an exit for me to get out of these sewers. But I don't have a lot of ammo left. I'll check the corridor to the right to see if there's clips or anything else that's useful...   
  
It was decided. Rowan slowly inched to the corridor to the right, scoping the shadows with her Beretta as she walked, her footsteps echoing through the cold, dark hall.  
  
**********  
  
Rowan was lucky with her findings. She found a door at the end of the corridor which opened into a small room with plush chairs and a bookcase in the left corner next to the door she entered. Various animal trophies hung on the walls in the dimly lit room. The floor was made of marble, which was an odd combination considering the trophies and plush chairs.   
  
iWeird how people that work in a smelly place enjoy comfort right where they work...  
  
Rowan wrinkled her nose at the smell of the sewers as she began to look through the drawers of a furnished oak desk to the right of the room. She had used up a whole clip on a zombie and a giant, mutated spider with eyes the size of saucers, and was badly in need of ammo. The top drawer were locked, and there were two more left to try. The second drawers opened up to reveal pens, papers, and other things that were of no use to her. Sighing, Rowan opened the last drawer, and she saw a small leather book laying inside of it. Raising a brow, the girl picked it up and flipped through the pages. It was a journal. Curiously, she flipped to the last few pages and read the entries written down.  
  
'September 24, 1998  
I've been picked as a Watchdog for collecting information about the virus that is going around Raccoon. In Operation Watchdog, certain people who work with Umbrella are picked to go into Raccoon City disguised as workers, scientists, soldiers, and other things. Our duty is to study the effects of the virus on the city and the people and report the status of the city to Umbrella using computers. There are only ten Watchdogs, three of which I know are Davis Chan, Terence Foster, and some weird and spooky Russian named Nicholai. I'm supposed to be a woman who works for the city. I have my equipment ready, and, if my calculations are correct, it shouldn't be long until the city is infected...'  
  
'September 26, 1998  
It has begun. The city started to become overrun with the virus carriers. One of the first places that got hit was Raccoon City Middle School North, and I feel sorry for all of the children who lost their lives. I got word that Umbrella sent the Tyrant seeker, a.k.a. Nemesis, as we call it, out to hunt down the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members that are still in the city. Nicholai and his men arrived, although the rest of the U.B.C.S. are unaware of Operation Watchdog, Umbrella's bioweapons experiments, or the T-virus. The U.B.C.S.'s mission is to rescue civilians. The rest of the Watchdogs are somewhere in the city, reporting to Umbrella. I'll be reporting in a few minutes, as well.'  
  
'September 28, 1998  
Nicholai's coming for me, I just know it. He knows I'm a Watchdog and wants me dead. He probably wants the data I reported, which I saved on a floppy disk. I believe he wants to kill all the Watchdogs and collect their data, making him the only surviving Watchdog and extremely wealthy. I won't be able to hide for long, so I plan on facing him bravely. If anyone finds this journal, chances are that I'm prbably dead. Now I regret joining Umbrella, and now I see all the pain they caused. It has to end. Stop Nicholai, and stop Umbrella before something worse that Raccoon City happens...  
Janice Thomlinson'  
  
Rowan stared at the journal blankly, her eyes looking it over a few more times. Her school was the first place to be attacked by the hordes of the undead, which would explain why no police came to stop it. The thing chasing Brad and Jill was a Tyrant seeker that was also known as Nemesis. The man named Nicholai sounded like a maniac, and if the woman, Janice, was telling the truth, it was possible that Nicholai may cause trouble with Jill, Brad, and Carlos. Shaking her head in dibelief and confusion, Rowan closed the jounral, about to put it into her item pouch so she could show it to the others-  
  
-and a small item fell from it and clattered to the floor. Cocking her head, the girl knelt down to pick it up, discovering that it was a key...  
  
iThe top drawer!   
  
Rowan smiled and picked the key up, then turned to the locked drawer. She stuck the key in and turned it, and with a small click, she pulled the now unlocked drawer open. Instantly, her jaw dropped.  
  
A Colt Python was in the drawer, along with enough bullets for it to take out around twenty or twenty-five zombies with one shot. There were also two clips for the Beretta. Grinning, Rowan put the safety on the Beretta and put it in her right jean pocket so that its handle stuck out. She opened her ammo pouch and put the Beretta and Colt ammunition in it, then carefully zipped it back up. Sighing, Rowan picked up the Colt and turned to head out the door.  
  
**********  
  
As Rowan exited the door, gun shots sounded somewhere in the corridor. She ran to find the source, pointing the Colt at the dark shadows in the sewers. She heard footsteps, but not her own, and saw a man running through one of the corridors. He had short army cut white hair, and Rowan could see him wearing a U.B.C.S. uniform, but that was all she could make out of him in the dark.  
  
"Hey!" Rowan yelled, waving for him with her left hand-  
  
-and a bullet ricocheted off of the wall next to her head, Rowan heard a Russian accented laugh as the man disappeared into the darkness.  
  
iNicholai...  
  
Rowan glared at where he disappeared, her eyes flashing with rage. If that was Nicholai, she was right when she concluded that he must've been crazy. He just shot at her, the bullet barely missing her head.  
  
Rowan shook the anger off an ran to where she heard the first shot. The path led her to a small room which looked like a tiny laboratory. Books were stacked around the room, and a small computer terminal was hidden behind a stack of them. An elevator lift was in the top right corner of the room, and-  
  
i-Oh God...  
  
A woman's body was slumped against a wall, her face completely obliterated. She had long, black hair and wore a white lab coat and denim jeans, which were both splattered with blood. Rowan pushed the bile back down as she saw that her face was riddled with bullet holes. It had to be Janice, and Nicholai really was hunting her down.  
  
Covering her mouth, Rowan ran out of the room to look for a way out of the sewers, praying that she would get to Jill, Brad, and Carlos before Nicholai did.  
  
**********  
  
SE42, also known as Behemoth, opened its reptillian eyes.   
  
It was inside a small cage in the sewers, locked away in a secret room so that it wouldn't be discovered. It had been asleep for days since it had broken out of its confinement in a laboratory, but was awakened by its beckoning hunger, by the long for fresh blood. Growling, it glanced out of the cage, its senses sharp and alert. It smelt fresh meat somewhere in the sewers, and it was very, very hungry.  
  
Glaring at the cage, Behemoth raised one of its powerful, clawed arms-  
  
-and four of the steel bars were sliced in half, breaking under the power of its arms and claws. The monster gave a triumphant roar and stepped out of the cage, sniffing the air.  
  
Fresh meat, and Behemoth was hungry. It needed food, wanted it. Giving a loud, primordial roar, the creature kicked the door of the secret room off of its hinges and to the opposite side of the room with one of its clawed feet, then ran off into the sewers in search of its prey. 


	8. Chapter 8

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 8  
By: Windra  
  
  
Rowan began to walk down the corridor where she heard the zombies wailing. Their cries now echoed in close to her, and the girl paused, shaking her head in pity. They were once human. They once had lives, jobs, friends, relatives, some of them may have even had a family and kids. However, all those things were now lost for eternity as the moans of the once human things bounced off the walls. They would never laugh again, never cry, never smile or yell...they were no more than lifeless shells taken over by the demonic T-virus. Rowan had to put down a child of only eight years of age down the hall because it was no longer a child, but a part of the undead, groaning out for blood. She winced, feeling the sorrow when she realized when the kid had a family down the street of her home. Even the dogs and other things had lives, but now all their souls were taken out of their bodies by a disease created by a bioweapon making company which was supposed to be a pharmaceutal company.  
  
iUmbrella, I swear you'll pay for this.../i  
  
Rowan sighed, reloading her Colt Python as the first virus carrier stumbled into view, its arms outstretched. Grimacing, she fired a bullet directly at its skull, wincing as the bullet seemed to explode inside of its head, sending a shower of cartillage and blood onto the ground as the corpse fell onto the cold cement floor. The other carriers slowly made their approach to Rowan, and she quickly took out each one with a shot to the head, leaving the corridor empty and lifeless. That's when she heard it...  
  
A loud, primordial roar shook the empty hallways of the sewers. It echoed off of the walls, which caused it to seem to make the noise come from every corner. The roar shook Rowan's bones, and she felt adrenaline pumping through her body like never before. Whatever it was, the girl couldn't tell how close or how far away the monster was. The roar was louder than the ones the Nemesis had made, and it sounded even more viscious.   
  
iOh man, what the hell could be worse than Nemesis?!/i  
  
Thundering footsteps began to echo down the corridors, moving fast. Whatever it was, it was moving in fast, and Rowan made a mad dash down the hall, running and hoping to find an exit. Two more zombies whirled around at the sound of her footsteps, but she brushed past them, running through the halls without stopping, without glancing backwards. They shuffled afterwards, but their moans were lost in the sound of another roar very close by-  
  
-and she almost ran straight into a ladder in front of her. Rowan stared at with her eyes glazing over with joy. Not daring to look back, she gripped onto the steel rungs, pulling herself up hurriedly, her palms sweaty. As she reached the top of the ladder, she saw another manhole cover above her, and she raised her arms while clinging onto the ladder with her feet. There were two dull thuds, and Rowan glanced back to where she came from. The two zombies were now lying on the ground, their heads severed cleanly off of their shoulders. Another figure walked into view, and Rowan's heart skipped a beat.   
  
The thing was only twenty or so feet away from the ladder, standing on its hind legs, and it stood about six and a half feet tall. The thing resembled a dinosaur in a variety of ways, but the shape of its head made it look like a crocodile hybrid. Its snout was flat and shaped like a crocodile's, with its three to four inch fangs sticking out of its mouth. A pair of large, yellow reptillian eyes were on either side of its head, and two spikes jutted out along the back of its head, covered in blood. Its arms were long, but not long enough to touch the ground, and each ended with four long, sharp talons, each about half a foot long. The legs were the same, but they curved backwards like a dinosaur's legs, and its T-Rex-like feet were tipped with claws about the same size as the ones on its hands. A long, scaly tail around five feet long swung behind it. On each of the creature's shoulders sat another pair of arms, curved and tense, both ending in a curved, foot long talon. The creature threw back its head, opening its head to let out a loud roar, revealing rows of glittering teeth, then stared in Rowan's direction.  
  
Rowan gasped, pushing the manhole's cover with all the strength she could gather, lifting it slightly, but the weight of the lid overcame her strength and fell back down. The monster hissed, taking a running jump towards the ladder, nearly halving the distance between her and the creature. Her heart hammering into her throat, Rowan pushed as the creature began to swipe at her-  
  
-and the manhole lid was open. The monster growled and swung at her, but Rowan climbed quickly out of the manhole as the claws barely missed her legs. She rushed out of the hole, then turned away. If she tried to cover the manhole with the lid, she'd be waisting time, and, comparing it with the Nemesis, the monster would probably be able to blow the lid off of the manhole with its claws. Nervous, she ran with as much speed she could conjure up from her body and fled, not daring to look back.  
  
**********  
  
Behemoth swung at the human, almost feeling the tasty meat in its moth as its claws ripped through the air to swipe at her-  
  
-and then the human was gone, climbing up and out of the manhole. Behemoth roared in rage, walking to the foot of the ladder, its eyes flashing with anger and hunger. The human began to run, but no one was too fast for Behemoth. Growling, it jumped up and out of the manhole, landing on the asphalt next to the opening. A smell of decay washed over it, but the smell of fresh blood was still strong in its nostrils.  
  
Hissing, Behemoth began to stalk away into the darkness. It would toy with this human for a bit, and then it would feast.  
  
**********  
  
Rowan ran until her legs were weak, but even then she wouldn't stop. Her heart was hammering and felt like it was about to burst through her chest while she dashed past the zombies that flooded the streets. She continued running for about five minutes, but she was overcome with exhaustion, and found herself running to a door she didn't know was there before. She ran in, throwing herself into the room and slamming the door shut just as a zombie from outside was about to reach her.   
  
The door opened into a hallway that led to a number of numbered doors ahead of her, and a flight of stairs moved to the second floor, which also had numbered doors in it...an apartment building. Gripping her Colt Python, she Rowan slowly moved to the second floor, scoping the area with her gun. She moved towards the door at the end of the hall on the second floor and slowly opened the door. No moans greeted her, and Rowan slowly reached for the light switch and flipped it on, staring at the room with her eyes wide and aware. Nothing was in the room, and she slowly crept in, closing and locking the door behind her, to examine the room.   
  
There was a heavy wooden chest to the left of the room, and a small sofa sat in front of her. There were numbers of books stacked up on a bookshelf next to the sofa, and an old wooden desk sat on the right side of the room. The rug was plush and smooth, and the walls were painted a sky blue. Rowan looked to the right and noticed a still working clock hanging on the wall. It read 12:05 A.M.  
  
Rowan sat on the chair and yawned, still gripping the Colt in her hand in case anything would be able to get in. She hadn't had any sleep since around four o' clock or five o' clock that morning. Sighing, she closed her eyes and was soon asleep. She would have to search for Jill, Brad, and Carlos in the morning.  
  
**********  
  
Rowan jerked awake within three or four hours of sleep. She had a hard time trying to get some rest, and was lucky she got any at all. A series of nightmares were coming to her. About the zombies, her best friends being killed, the Nemesis, and the new monster that was chasing her. The visions kept her from getting a peaceful night's sleep. Groaning, she slowly stood up and stretched, turning her tired gaze to the clock.  
  
4:00 A.M., and today was September 29. Rowan stood for a few minutes to fully wake up, then knelt down and grabbed her Colt Python. She stretched one last time and opened the apartment door in front of her. She headed down the stairs and up to the door that led out of the apartment building. Slowly, she opened it, and was immediantly greeted by a single moan.  
  
The zombie that Rowan almost ran into when she was fleeing into the building was lurching towards her. It was about two feet away, but Rowan could easily avoide it. Turning to the path she came from yesterday, she began to walk away. The alley she walked through was dark, and Rowan gripped the Colt tightly, raising it and aiming at the shadows.  
  
A single zombie stumbled into view, blocking her only way out of the alley. Rowan frowned, lifting the Colt to aim at its head, and fired. The zombie moaned and fell to the ground, and its body started to twitch. Rowan jumped back in surprise, preparing to fire again.  
  
iDeath spasms, don't worry about it.../i  
  
The girl sighed and stepped over the twitching body, heading out into the road. To the right were hordes of zombies, about ten in all. All of them were feasting on the bodies of civilians who tried to get away. The zombies payed no heed to Rowan as she turned to the left and headed down the road. She paused, suddenly grinning.  
  
A clock tower got into her view, and Rowan saw the clock on the small tower ticking away. She smiled as a wave of relief came over her.  
  
iThey've got to be there, they have to./i  
  
Rowan gave a small laugh of joy and began to run down the road, but she was unaware that a pair of reptillian eyes were watching her from the rooftops.  
  
**********  
  
Behemoth watched the girl run from a rooftop, its reptillian eyes watching her every movement. It stealthily began to head across the roofs in an attempt to keep up with her, not making a single sound as it did so. Its mouth was wide open and its eyes were glowing with delight as it watched its pray run. Behemoth was already a building or two ahead of the girl, and, giving a soft hiss that the girl wouldn't hear, it walked to the side of the building it just landed on. It looked at the ground, then roared, leaping off of the building and into the road, just a few feet in front of the girl.  
  
The girl gasped and stumbled back as Behemoth slowly advanced, its arms raised and its tail swishing wildly. The human took another step back, then darted past Behemoth. The monster roared in frustration as the girl took off down the road, running between buildings as if she were trying to confuse it. Behemoth hissed and leapt onto a rooftop, then jumped from building to building, looking for its prey.  
  
**********  
  
Rowan ran, inwardly scolding herself for not being more cautious. She was now running through the alleys between buildings in an attempt to try and confuse the monster, but she heard the loud thuds of its footsteps on the roofs of the buildings. She continued to try and flee from the monster, but she could hear the footsteps catching up to her, and she quickly turned left into another alley, running out into the opening to find a fence directly in front of her. The clock tower stood behind it, and the monster's footfalls were coming closer, and quick.  
  
She decided to take a chance. Rowan dashed for the fence, gripping onto it and pulling herself up as the creature leapt off the building behind her. Rowan was on the top of the fence within a minute, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She could hear the monster right behind her as the girl prepared to leap-  
  
-and she was over the fence, landing in the soft grass in the yard of the clock tower. The monsters claws slashed across the fence, leaving the fence mangled. The creature gave a loud, bellowing roar and leapt over the fence and in front of Rowan. Without thinking, she stumbled to her feet and aimed the Colt at its head-  
  
-and the monster ducked as Rowan fired at where its head was, then started to run at her with immense speed. She fired at its torso, leaving a gaping hole in its chest, then ran for the front door of the clock tower, reaching out to push the door open as the creature began to gain on her-  
  
-she shoved the door open and closed it behind just as the monster was about to get her. It obviously stopped before it could slam into the door and gave a loud, primordial roar of anger. Its footfalls began to move away, and Rowan slumped against the doors, taking a deep breath.   
  
That's when she heard footsteps coming towards her, and Rowan stood up quickly, holding her Colt. She waited for the person or thing to come into view, hoping that it wasn't Nicholai or a monster. She stood silent, and two people came into view...  
  
**********  
  
Ok, I'll be working on chapter 9, and it might not be up till tomorrow, depending on how much time I get to spend writing on it. Hey, I need to know how to use html for italics, cuz it won't work. Could some one please e-mail me or post in my review how to use html? Thanks 


	9. Chapter 9

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 9  
By Windra  
  
  
  
"Who's there?" Rowan said solemnly, her Colt Python trained on the shadows of the two figures ahead of her.  
  
There was a pause for a moment, as though the two figures were surprised. Then a familiar voice piped up.  
  
"Rowan?" the first person asked. "Is that you?"  
  
Rowan froze, a feeling of joy overwhelming her when she recognized the voice. The two figures slowly made their approach, and she could make them both out. She let out a long sigh of relief as the two people walked into the light, revealing Carlos Oliveira and Brad Vickers.   
  
"You're allright!" Carlos exclaimed. "What happened to you?"  
  
"It's a looooong story," Rowan sighed, holstering her colt and looking around the room. She looked up, suddenly, her eyes wide. "You guys okay? Where's Jill?"  
  
There was a moment of silence, and Rowan felt a feeling of dread tie a knot in her throat.   
  
"We'll bring you to the chapel," Brad said. "Jill's there, and the place seems safe."  
  
Rowan nodded, following them silently as they lead thee way.  
  
**********  
  
The chapel was a small room with small rows of chairs on either side of the room. There was a chest to the right of the door, and an alter and an organ were in the front of the room. Jill was lying on top of the alter, covered up with some curtain drapes Carlos and Brad had found, and her head rested on a makeshift pillow. She was twitching and fidgeting uncontrollably, giving soft moans of despair. Her face was flushed, showing that she had a fever, and her right shoulder was bloody.  
  
Rowan was silent and sat down in one of the the rows of chairs. Carlos and Brad sat across from her, and Brad started to explain what happened.  
  
"While you were gone," he said, "we were being chased around the city by that monster. Carlos lead us to a cable car where two other U.B.C.S. soldiers, Mikhail and Nicholai, were. Mikhail was shot by someone before he came to the cable car. We had to run around town to find supplies to start up the trolley, and while we were looking around, Jill met Nicholai in one of the buildings. She said that she found some supplies in the building, and she said that Nicholai told her that he was trying to contact somebody to help us on his laptop. A group of zombies attacked while Jill was in another room and Nicholai was in the front room. She said she looked for Nicholai in the spot he was in, but he was gone... Probably dragged away by the carriers."  
  
"So," Carlos cut in, "we came back to the trolley to fix it up, and Jill told us that Nicholai wouldn't be joining us. We got the cable car fixed and started to leave...and then that monster came. Mikhail was in the back car, and when Brad and Jill went in to find out what was going on, the thing started heading for them. So Mikhail told them to get out, and...." Carlos swallowed, looking down at the tiled floor. "He sacrified himself to save them. He pulled a grenade in the back car..."  
  
Brad took over the story. "...The trolley went out of control, and Carlos hit the emergency break before we crashed into the yard of the clock tower. We found out that a signal was sent out when the bells at the top of the tower go off, but we needed a gear to get them to work. We headed back down, but were attacked by the thing again. We got together and pushed it off the side, then started looking for the gear. We found a puzzle and solved it, got the gear, and went back to the tower where the gears for the bells were set up. We put it in, and a few minutes later, a helicopter arrived..."  
  
"The helicopter was about to land," Carlos continued, "and then it came. The monster somehow got back up and used its rocket launcher on the chopper. The copter crashed into the building, and then the monster went after Brad and Jill. It went after Jill first, and it gave her a flesh wound to the right shoulder. Brad and I got in its way, and it went after us. I fired into the chamber of the launcher, and it exploded on the monster. We brought Jill to a chapel inside the tower, and she's still there now."  
  
"Is she infected?" Rowan asked.  
  
"We're not sure," Brad answered. "She's been going in and out of consiousness. There should be a vaccine for it...Umbrella had to create one in case something went wrong. We're trying to figure out where we can find it..."  
  
Carlos' face looked panic stricken and worried.   
  
"What about you?" he asked. "What happened?"  
  
Rowan sighed and began to tell them her story. She told them about the journal of Janice Thomlinson, about how Nicholai almost shot her. She told them about when she found Thomlinson's body, and about the giant creature that began to stalk her in the sewers. Rowan told them all the events she went through that led up to where she was now.  
  
Carlos and Brad's mouth were wide open.  
  
"So Nicholai's against us?" Brad asked.  
  
"Seems like it," Rowan murmered.   
  
"Can I see the journal?" Carlos wondered.  
  
Rowan nodded and opened up her item pouch, grabbing the black journal that stuck out of it. She pulled it out and handed it to Carlos, who started flipping through the pages immediantly. His eyes widened with every passage he read.  
  
"So...d'you think he's still alive?"   
  
"I dunno," Rowan answered. "I think so. He's probably looking for the other Watchdogs."  
  
"And that monster," Brad cut in, "the Nemesis, it was programmed to get the S.T.A.R.S. members. But how'd they manage to program the thing?"  
  
"Like Jill said," Carlos grinned, "Umbrella is definitely 100% batshit."  
  
Rowan snickered and looked around the room. Suddenly, she jerked her head towards Brad and Carlos.  
  
"The hospital," she said solemnly.  
  
"Huh?" Carlos questioned.  
  
"I get it," Brad concluded. "Maybe the vaccine's at the hospital. There had to be some Umbrella agents working there. Maybe they hid the vaccine there..."  
  
He stood up.  
  
"Guess we should check it out?" he asked.  
  
"Shouldn't you stay here?" Rowan inquired. "With Nemesis running around, he's be after either you or Jill in a heartbeat."  
  
"If I stayed, Jill and I would be cornered. If we split up, though, it might get confused."  
  
"I'll come," Rowan said. "I know this city like the back of my hand. I could lead you to the place."  
  
Carlos stood up. "I'll stay here and protect Jill. You guys go to the hospital and try to find the vaccine."  
  
Rowan sighed, unholstering her Colt and nodding.  
  
"Just be careful," she whispered. "Nemesis is out, and so is the other monster. They might come after you..."  
  
Carlos nodded and grinned, holding up his M16.  
  
"Don't worry 'bout it," he told them.   
  
Rowan and Brad shook thier heads as Carlos grinned and sat down. They turned towards the door and began to open it.  
  
"Be careful," Carlos said to them as they walked out the door.  
  
**********  
  
Behemoth watched from its spot on the roof of the clock tower as two people emerged from the door of the clock tower. One of them was the girl it wasn't able to catch, but the second was a new person. Now there was more prey. Behemoth gave a soft hiss that wouldn't be heard by the people and slowly crawled down the building, slinking into the shadows as its feet met the ground.  
  
It sensed that something was nearby. Narrowing its eyes, Behemoth looked back up to the rooftop to see another figure sitting and watching the humans. Behemoth's attention was so focused on the two humans that it didn't notice that it was there. The thing was almost like a giant human monster Behemoth had seen wandering aimlessly around the streets, except it was bigger and...different.  
  
The creature gave a soft growl, completely ignoring Behemoth. The crocodile hybrid shrugged it off, turning to follow the two humans through the darkness.  
  
**********  
  
Rowan and Brad walked slowly through the dark streets, the corners and buildings concealed in shadows of the late afternoon. The haze of smoke from the burning buildings and cars built up in the air, blocking the sunlight. The thick smell of bile and rot was thick in the air, and screams from other survivors being ripped to pieces echoed through the whole city. A number of bodies were on the ground, and they were sure to step over the bottom half of their body in case they weren't really dead. Two of the bodies they stepped over reached out in a feeble attempt to grab their legs, but the two ignored them.  
  
Rowan held her Colt tightly, looking around keenly. She had a feeling that something was watching her, and she didn't like it. Shaking her head, she continued to walk, staring at the shadows-  
  
-and a low, throaty growl erupted behind them. Brad and Rowan swung around almost instantly, and were confronted with a nightmare familiar to Rowan.  
  
**********  
  
Cliffhanger! Found out when the Resident Evil Movie was coming out, should be out on March 15. Rumors are going around that they're gonna make a game out of the movie. Anyway, does anyone know how to use HTML? It's not working for me at all...C-ya! 


	10. Chapter 10

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 10  
By Windra  
  
  
Rowan and Brad stumbled backwards as the monster lifted its head to the sky and roared. Its yellow eyes blazed hungrily as it looked down at the two again, raising its four arms as it walked closer to them on its hind legs. The creature's fangs gnashed threateningly as it prepared to attack. Hissing, it brought one of its arms down towards them-  
  
-and they jumped out of the way just before it got to them. Rowan jumped to the left and Brad to the right. Rowan landed hard on the ground, and the wound on her left arm began to throb painfully. The monster lurched forwards, looking at them both, then started for Rowan, who scrambled to her feet within a second. The creature hissed, giving a loud roar before it lunged at her-  
  
-and Rowan jumped to the right. The creature landed on its feet, looking towards the two.  
  
"Run!" Brad yelled, and he and Rowan starting running through the streets, the monster close behind.   
  
The creature roared in frustration, its rumbling footsteps chasing after them. They could hear the claws and arms of the creature rip through the air behind them. The two continued running as if the hounds of hell were on their tale, and Rowan nearly ran into a zombie doing so. They ran past the carrier, which turned towards them as they ran and started to lurch after them. There was a dull thump as the creature ran past it, its claws tearing its head clean off of the zombie's shoulders as it did. The monster roared in rage, the lunged at Brad, who missed it narrowly.   
  
It kept chasing them as they ran. The two took a left into an alley. Brad and Rowan kept running, not daring to look behind. There was a loud crash as the creature knocked over a trash can in its hunt. The two people turned a right to find a large, rusty metal door. They ran for it, and the monster charged at them as they opened the door. It lunged as they were about to run in-  
  
-and its snout met the hard metal of the door as the two slammed the door behind them. It cringed and fell to the ground, lifting its injured snout to the air and opening its jaws wide to let loose a loud, horrible roar that shook the nearby buildings. Hissing at the door, the monster slowly turned and began to walk away.  
  
**********  
  
Rowan and Brad stood behind the door they just came through, leaning on the walls and trying to catch their breath. The door had led into another road...Main Street, to be exact. The roof of the hospital could be seen in the distance. Cars and trucks were piled up in flaming heaps, and several buildings had caught on fire. There were a few moans of oncoming zombies, but they were two far away to bother with.  
  
They jumped when the crocodile hybrid rammed into the door headfirst, thinking that the door was about to give way. However, the heavy footfalls of the monster moved away into the distance. Rowan suddenly smiled, a small joke forming in her mind.  
  
"So now its the undead-croc-smash-a-thon?" she joked, earning a chuckle from Brad.  
  
"S'pose so," he said. "We're out of undead dogs because Jill smashed the living daylights out of them."  
  
Rowan gave a soft laugh and turned to face the alley. Nodding in silent agreement, they walked out of the alley and into the street.  
  
One zombie was halfway through crawling through a smashed car's front window while another was lurching towards them with its arms outstretched. The two people meerely walked past them because of the zombies' speed, and reached the other side of the street safely. They weaved through another alley and found themselves in another street, but they were not so lucky zombie-wise.  
  
Three zombies were directly in front of them, all of them shambling in their direction. Two more were to the right, and to the left, another two were only a few feet away. Actually, two and a half if you counted the upper half of the body of another zombie that was crawling towards them, its entrails dragging along the ground. They moaned endlessly as they tried to reach Rowan and Brad to get their food.  
  
Rowan fired at one of the closest ones and Brad shot at another, and the two virus carriers fell to the ground. The last one that stood directly in front of them was soon on the ground by another shot from Brad, and, seeing the clearing they had made, the two began to run to the other side-  
  
-and in a second, Rowan found herself almost tripping. She glanced backwards as she tried to regain her balance, and saw that the crawling zombie was latching onto her right leg. It groaned as it drew its mouth closer...  
  
Rowan kicked at its head, causing a piece of flaky skin to slip away, revealing the dull white skull. There was the sound of a gun reloading behind her as she kicked again. The zombie moaned as it drew closer to her foot, and the girl kicked at its left cheek, causing its head to be pushed away for the moment. Within less that a second, the zombie's head started heading for her right foot again. Rowan continued to kick as its jaws got closer-  
  
-and suddenly, its head fell down in a gurgling moan. There was a hole in the back of its head, blood oozing out of it. Rowan quickly kicked the rotting hand, which was still clutching weakly to her leg, away and scrambled to her feet, looking up to see Brad holding a gun, still pointing it at the zombie. She nodded in thanks and they started to run for the next street with the monsters close behind.  
  
Another door stood in their path, and the two quickly ran inside of it, slamming the door behind them. Within a few minutes, the undead started pounding on the door and wailing for blood. Rowan shuddered, memories of the middle school's infestation flowing back into her mind. Sighing, she began to look around the new surroundings.  
  
They were in what looked like drug store. There were six aisles, and each of them were filled with all types of medecine. Ahead of them was the counter where the pharmacists (sp?) usually worked, and to the right of the counter was a door.  
  
The two began to search for a vaccine for the T-virus in an instant. They scoped through the medecine in the rows and behind the counter for about fifteen minutes, but there wasn't a trace of a T-virus vaccination...not even a clue as to where it might be. Moaning, they started for the other door to start for the hospital-  
  
i-Click...click...click.../i  
  
Rowan and Brad froze as a low, raspy breathing filled the air. Taking a deep breath, they rose their heads to see what the thing was.  
  
The thing was clinging to the ceiling as if it were a spider. It looked almost like a human, but the comparison between a human and the creature ended there. Its body was fleshy and pink as if the skin had been ripped off. Each of its arms were tipped with three long, curved, sharp claws instead of hands. The thing's head had no eyes, and on its head was the exposed whitish-pink tissue of the brain. The monster's mouth was full of razor sharp teeth, and a tongue, lance-like in shape, flicked out of its mouth. The tongue extended to become about five or six feet, then it snapped back inside the creature's mouth. For the first time since she entered the room, Rowan saw that there was a small hole in the cieling, in the right corner across from them, to be exact, yet it was large enough for that creature to squeaze into.  
  
It couldn't see Rowan and Brad, but it could hear every breath they took. It eyeless gaze looked to where the source of the breathing was coming from. They stood still for a minute, and the creature finally tore its sightless stare away from them. It started to linger around the ceiling aimlessly. The two exchanged glances, then looked at the door. Then they ran for it, Rowan grabbing the handle of the door and pulling it open as Brad ran through.   
  
The creature roared a shrill, high-pitched shriek and let its grip on the ceiling fell. Rowan watched as the monster twirled around in mid-air and landed swiftly on its clawed arms. With as much speed it could conjure up, it darted for them. Rowan ran through the door, slamming it behind her. She heard the monster clawing and scratching at the door, wailing in anger as the prey it tried to catch made their escape.  
  
Rowan shook her head and looked down the road that they had arrived on. Luckily, the hole in the wall wasn't on the side they got out of, so the monster wouldn't be able to get them, unless it could climb over a building in two minutes. The road was almost completely deserted except for a few zombies roaming aimlessly around the street. They were too far away to hear or pay any heed to the two people that had just gotten out of the drug store.  
  
Slowly, Rowan checked her gun to make sure it was still loaded, then gazed down the street.  
  
"I can't wait 'till we get outta here," she murmered softly.  
  
Brad nodded. "I can agree to that."  
  
One of the once human creatures heard them, and it turned to face them. Slowly, it shambled in their direction as a low, helpless moan rose from its torn throat. Brad and Rowan sighed, then began to walk past the zombie, hoping to get to the hospital on time.  
  
**********  
  
Behemoth watched from above a nearby building, its eyes flickering with a rage it never knew it had before. It had tried countless times to get the humans, yet they always seemed to escape its grasp. Right now it just wanted blood, their blood. However, it would need to attack later. They were aware now, and were scoping the shadows as they walked past the human monsters that were too slow to catch them. If Behemoth arrived now, they would shoot it down. But if it caught them off gaurd...  
  
Behemoth wasn't stupid. Its intelligence level had been altered by the Umbrella scientists. It knew how to plan its attacks, and it knew when to attack. Hissing, Behemoth slinked into the shadows silently, waiting until the time was right.  
  
**********  
  
Chapter 11 is in progress. It might not be up until either this weekend or sometime this week. Bear with me! Any questions or anything, just e-mail me at Dragon_Of_Wind@msn.com C-ya! 


	11. Chapter 11

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 11  
By Windra  
  
  
Rowan and Brad started from a walk to a run as they headed towards the hospital, which was about another twenty blocks away. The virus carriers that lingered around started to head for them, and, even though the monster were slow, the two didn't want to risk getting surrounded by them. Numerous bodies littered the ground, either undead or completely dead. So far, there was no sign of the crocodile hybrid that was hunting them down, and they didn't see anymore of the tongue monsters lingering around.  
  
Still running, they turned to the right and into another road, only to find the path blocked by a crashed eighteen-wheeler. Apparently, it held gas, and crashed into a cop car, nearly disintegrating it. The burning corpse of the truck driver was slamming his fists against the window, moaning and staring at the two people with white, lifeless eyes. The doors on the truck were either melted shut, or were caved in, meaning that the zombie couldn't get out. Rowan sighed and turned, and, for the first time, she noticed that the ground was littered with dead zombies, each having a gunshot to the head.  
  
iSo there are other survivors... I hope they're alright.../i  
  
Rowan shook the thoughts out of her head, reminding herself that right now it didn't matter. They had to get the vaccine for Jill, and they couldn't stall. Silently, the two headed back to the intersection, taking the left path instead. The road was clear except for a few virus carriers shambling about, but one of them spotted the two and moaned loudly, getting the others' attention. They moaned in usion and stumbled towards them.  
  
Not wanting to waste their bullets on them in case they met up with the crocodile hybrid, Brad and Rowan ran past them. One of the zombies fell over as they passed, and it started to crawl. The undead humans howled in hunger as the two darted past and down the road, disappearing from their sight.  
  
**********  
  
Nicholai saw them running. He stood behind a building close to the hospital, and had peeked his head around the side of the building to see them coming. He laughed inwardly. Dr. Richard Aquino, another Watchdog, was just murdered at the hands of Nicholai, and he found that the man had already got the vaccine ready. Nicholai set out around the hospital to find the Vaccine Medium and Base, and he mixedthe two together, forming the complete T-virus vaccine, which was now kept inside a metal case in one of his vest pockets. He was now waiting for Ken Franklin...and after that, there would only be two Watchdogs left. Once he killed off all of the Watchdogs, he would steal their data and combine it into his own. Then he would present it to Umbrella as the soul surviving Watchdog, and he would become very, very wealthy...  
  
Nicholai covered his mouth to muffle his joyous laughter. If felt great to be in controll of somebody. He decided whether the Watchdogs were to live or not, and with these two people coming, he would control them, too. One of them, he knew, was a friend to Carlos and Jill, and was another S.T.A.R.S. member. The Tyrant Seeker shoud have already got them, but they must've escaped. The girl he recognized from the sewers, but he didn't understand how she could have made it this far. Now it didn't matter; they would soon be eliminated.  
  
He turned his attention away when he saw Franklin walk into the hospital, not noticing Nicholai. Nicholai grinned and entered the hospital through a window in another room. He would deal with the other two later.  
  
**********  
  
Behemoth watched from the rooftop of a nearby building as the two humans ran through the streets. Rage was gathering inside of it like a balloon now, and it was mentally fighting its hunger so that it wouldn't blow its cover. It just saw another human by the hospital. The person went through a window as another man walked into the large building.  
  
Hissing, Behemoth crawled among the rooftops and moved towards the hospital, careful to stay out of view of the two humans it was hunting. It started for the shadows, then turned to watch the events.  
  
Soon, very soon, Behemoth would get what it desired most...blood.  
  
**********  
  
They made it.  
  
Rowan and Brad had run about five blocks, then took a left, only to find a pair of Hunters feasting upon a dead body. Not wanting to be their next kill, they snuck off of that road and headed back to the main street. They continued for another ten or so blocks, passing a number of zombie's and other hybrids neither had seen before. The two now stood in front of the hospital, trying to catch their breaths. The hospital was about twenty or more stories high. Some of the lights inside flickered on and off, probably because of a blown fuse or something of the sort. After a minute of trying to catch their breath, they nodded and headed for the double doors, pushing them open.  
  
The room they walked into looked like a nuclear bomb hit it. A number of tables and chairs were strewn about, some broken into pieces next to the doors, as if an attempt to barricade it. A window in one of the doors was smashed, and numerous bloodstaines were on the walls, as well as bloody handprints. One or two dead bodies were lying among the rubble, motionless. Reloading her gun, Rowan went on the left to check for any ammo or keys, and Brad checked the right wall-  
  
-and then the sound of shuffling footsteps were heard, footsteps that seemed to limp towards them. The two jerked their heads forward to the front of the room to see a zombie turning the bend in the room, heading for them-  
  
-and something leapt past it, a claw slashing its head off in one swift movement. The head fell, and soon the body followed as it spewed blood all over the floor. The thing that slashed it landed nimbly next to the body, throwing its arms back as it gave a loud, hideous screech.  
  
The thing bore a lot of resemblance to the Hunter the group saw in front of the City Hall, except it was different in both size and build. The thing looked more like a raptor of some sort, except its snout was very short and there was no tail. Its greenish-yellow skin was decaying, and some places of it had the flesh completely ripped off. Each of its arms and legs were tipped with deadly curved claws. Its head seemed to have either being torn inside out or just exploded. Some of the exposed flesh covered its shoulders and the right half of its head, inlcluding one of the lifeless white eyes. Its jaw was lined with razor sharp teeth. Roaring, it leapt forward, its claws outstretched...  
  
The two leapt out of its path as it landed, screeching madly. The monster turned to face Brad, its claws slashing through the air, but he got out of the way. Screaming in rage, it turned towards Rowan, who was following Brad to the other side of the room. They pulled the door open and ran in, slamming it shut-  
  
-and the monster's sharp claws tore through the glass in the window off the door. Screeching, it slammed against the metal part of the door, blowing it halfway off of its hinges. The modified Hunter flailed wildly as it tried to get through the door. Brad and Rowan took aim, and fired directly into its head. It claws flailed wildly through the air and it screamed in anger, but soon stopped as a pool of blood formed around the monster's head.  
  
"Hunter?" Rowan asked shakily, reloading her gun.  
  
"S'pose so," Brad replied, reloading his Beretta. "New breed, I guess..."  
  
Sighing, they turned around and scoped the room, trying to find the vaccine.  
  
**********  
  
Ken Franklin was now slumped against the corner of a room in the hospital, moaning in agony and staring at Nicholai, who stood in front of him, holding a Colt Python. He laughed as he aimed at Ken's head, preparing to pull the trigger and end his life-  
  
-when footsteps echoed outside of the room. Nicholai froze, his gaze slowly turning to the door. The footsteps grew closer, and the U.B.C.S. captain suddenly grinned. He grabbed his M-16 from its strap and held it in his right hand, still holding a Colt Python in his left hand. Quickly, he hid in a shadowy corner, his weapons trained on the door.   
  
The footsteps paused at the door, and, a second later, the doorknob turned slowly. It then burst open, and two people jumped in, their weapons scoping the room. One of them was a S.T.A.R.S. member, Brad Vickers, the other was the child Nicholai was so close to killing in the sewers. They stepped forward, and, seeing no danger, lowered their guns. They walked around the room to investigate, looking around each corner and shelf, until they saw Franklin.  
  
They stood in shock, then walked slowly up to him to help, and Nicholai took this time to walk out of the shadows as their backs were turned. He pointed both weapons at their head, then smiled.  
  
"Gotcha," he laughed.  
  
**********  
  
Rowan froze, not daring to look behind her. She wanted to raise her gun, but a slight movement could mean thier deaths. She exhaled slowly as the madman named Nicholai continued to laugh.  
  
"What do you want?" Brad asked, his voice cracking slightly.  
  
Nicholai stopped laughing for a second and walked to the right side of them, his guns still trained on them. The man had white, military-cut hair and an icy stare. He wore a U.B.C.S. uniform, held an M-16 in his right hand, and a Colt Python in his left hand, which were now both trained on their heads. He gave a smile, and Rowan felt like punching him, but she held still, her eyes narrowed.  
  
"Since I'll be killing you in a moment, I'll tell you," the man snickered. "I plan to collect the data from the other Watchdogs, but I doubt you know what that is. We are a, heh, a unit sent in by Umbrella to study the effects of the T-Virus on the city. We send information to Umbrella by saving the data to floppies. I'm getting rid of the other Watchdogs, and I'll take their data to combine with my own. When I get out of this city as the only surviving Watchdog, I'll be very, very wealthy. So tell me, how are the other three rats, Mikhail, Valentine, and Oliveira?"  
  
Rowan saw that if they said that they were alive, he'd probably go after them, so she spoke up.  
  
"They're all dead," she lied, and Brad looked over, confused. She gave a small nod, not noticed by Nicholai, and he looked back. "Carlos got...caught by some of the monsters... Mikhail died on the trolley...and we lost Jill to the virus..."  
  
Nicholai laughed a bitter laugh, and Rowan shuddered, glaring hatefully at the man. A sudden moan caught her attention, ans she glanced over at the wounded man, who was secretively pulling the pin of an impact grenade. He must've moaned to mute the sound. Nicholai grinned again.  
  
"Ah, that's Ken Franklin over there," he chuckled, not looking at Ken. "A fellow Watchdog. Oh, and Brad, tell me, how did you get away from the Tyrant Seeker for this long? And who," he directed the question towards Rowan, "are you?"  
  
The S.T.A.R.S. member frowned. "We were able to avoid it..."  
  
"And...," Rowan began, pausing for a minute, then sighed, "I'm Rowan...the one you tried to ikill/i in the sewers." She growled, her left hand clenching into a fist.  
  
Nicholai laughed again. "No matter, you won't be able to get away from it for long. The same goes for you, Rowan. Neither of you will avoid it for long, because I'm going to get rid of both of you here. As for your friend, Jill..." He stretched the hand holding the Colt down to one of his pockets, pulling out what looked like a metal container with two of his free fingers. "This could have healed your friend, but it's no use to you anymore." He grinned, putting the container back into his pocket, getting ready to pull the trigger.  
  
Rowan looked like she was about to explode, then glanced over at Ken, who held his arm back...  
  
"DIE!" Franklin yelled, throwing the grenade across the room.  
  
Brad and Rowan jumped away as Nicholai leapt through a window. There was a loud explosion that almost blew them away, and, about a minute later, it died down. Rowan glanced up to see the walls black as charcoal. The shelves were knocked over, and some of the metal had melted. She didn't dare to glance at the Ken, knowing what she would see. The two stood up and began to look around the room.   
  
Brad glanced at the ground and saw something glittering. He grinned and bent to pick it up, holding it up happily.  
  
"Is it me," he joked, "or am I really striking luck today? First the gem, now this."  
  
Rowan laughed. "Hey, Lady Luck IS on our side today."  
  
He grinned. "To the clocktower," he imitated.  
  
They headed for the door, but Rowan tripped over something. Scoping the ground for whatever she tripped on, she picked up a small book, and started flipping through it. She froze.  
  
"Brad! Check this out!"  
  
He walked over and she handed him the book, and his mouth dropped.  
  
"Someone from Umbrella must've been working in the hospital." he murmered.   
  
The book had pictures of the monster, and under them were detailed descriptions of the creatures. He started flipping through the pages, and pointed at a picture.   
  
"It's the thing you shot in the street," he said, showing her the page. He began to read it aloud. "'Drain Deimons. An insect of any kind infected and mutated from the T-Virus. Extremely fast and deadly. They will do almost anything to get food, including trying to get through walls...'"  
  
He continued to flip through the pages, and froze again. "'Nemesis'...," he murmered, shuddering. "'A Tyrant Seeker programmed to wipe out the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members. The virus it was given was altered so that it would be incredibly strong and able to handle a weapon. It is planned to be sent out very soon.'"  
  
He flipped the pages again, and then stopped again, handing the book to Rowan, who gasped. The picture showed the crocodile-hybrid that was chasing them.   
  
"'SE42,'" she recited, her face paling, "'also known as Behemoth. It was a crocodile that was infected with an altered version of the T-Virus. The virus was altered so that it would be able to outsmart prey, but the virus has mutated it beyond our imagination. It is incredibly strong and broke out of the laboratories once, killing two people before some of the experts were sent to use tranquilizers on it. We were forced to contain it in a small steel cage in a secret room in the sewers, but we are not positive how long it will sleep, or how long the cage will hold it'...Oh...my god..."  
  
"Jill and Carlos were right," Brad said. "Umbrella is 100% batshit..."  
  
"Let's get out of here," Rowan sighed. "Jill and Carlos are waiting..."  
  
They nodded, and began to head out the door. Rowan turned to look at the charred remains of Ken, nodding. "Thank you," she murmered, but knowing it was pointless...the guy was dead. Sighing, she turned towards the door and followed Brad out.  
  
**********  
  
They were in the main room by now, facing the doors that led outside. Rowan smiled, anxious to get out of the city for good. Once they got Jill and Carlos, they'd look for a way out. They started for the door, but a knot of dread formed in her stomach as she saw something white with a blinking green light attatched to a pillar.  
  
A bomb, and there were only ten seconds left until detonation.  
  
iDamn you, Nicholai.../i  
  
Within a minute, they were charging for the door as screams of nearby Hunters neared them. The beeping of the bomb echoed in her ears as they pushed against the door, closing them before the Hunters got out, and ran down the street without stopping or thinking-  
  
-BOOM!  
  
The explosion was tremendous, and Rowan found herself flying through the air, then falling, landing hard on the asphalt. Brad landed nearby, and they glanced up at what used to be the hospital. It was now a flaming building, with billowing clouds of black smoke floating in the air. The bodies of the Hunters were leaned against the now shattered window doors, charred and crumbling. An acrid smell of smoke washed over them, and they covered their mouth and noses with their hands.  
  
Stumbling to their feet, Rowan and Brad turned towards the path that led to the clocktower. They nodded towards each other, then set off, hoping that they would get there before Nemesis got to Jill, or before she changed into an undead monster.  
  
**********  
  
Sorry for the delay. I was getting yelled at for being on the pc all the time, trying to write ^_^; Anyway, be expecting Chapter 12 up this weekend. 


	12. Chapter 12

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 12  
By: Windra  
  
  
NOTE: Words between ~'s are things that are shown on the television.  
  
Rowan and Brad ran down the street that led to the clocktower as the sky grew darker because of the time. Two or three zombies lurched into view from every direction, but, because of the monsters' slow speed, they were able to dodge all of them. Only one dog had gotten in their way, and it was now lying in a pool of its own blood a few meters behind them. Besides those two things, nothing else had gotten into their path. Only a few Hunters and little amounts of Lickers, which Rowan was able to identify as they killed another one when they were making their way away from the burning hospital, had wandered into view. However, the monsters ignored them. Instead, they were jumping onto some of the squirming bodies of fallen zombies and other monsters, and sometimes even completely dead humans.  
  
They were only about two or three miles away from the clocktower, and they continued to run, ignoring the monsters that were heading for them. They weren't aware that a monster was watching them, preparing to strike.  
  
**********  
  
Behemoth watched from a dark alley between two houses as the two humans ran past. They were unaware of anything, except for the human monsters, of anything coming after them. Hissing in pleasure, Behemoth leapt from the shadows and landed in the middle of the street, charging at the two people.  
  
**********  
  
Brad and Rowan stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the thundering footfalls behind them. They turned around quickly, then jumped out of the way as the monster known as Behemoth swiped its claws in the area where they once stood. It roared in anger and turned to them, charging again, and they moved out of the way, making its claws ripping through the air. It turned again, this time slowly walking towards them, its four arms raised, and it headed for Rowan.   
  
Rowan backed away, raising her Colt Python to the creature's skull, and fired, hoping that watching her father shoot game out back would pay off. The creature threw its head back as the bullet hit its skull, a chunk of ithe flesh that the bullet hit flesh flying off-  
  
-but it simply kept walking, the bullets to the head not affecting it. The flesh was obviously very thick around the skull, and the bullet didn't penetrate it...  
  
iBut I'm using a Colt. How the hell...?/i  
  
She looked behind her quickly to see if she was about to walk into any zombies, and, seeing that it was clear, continued to back away. She began to angle her turn to the side Brad was on, hoping that the monster wouldn't cut her off, anf fired a shower of bullets into its skull. Another clatter of bullets joined in as Brad opened fire.   
  
Behemoth threw its head back and gave a loud, echoing roar, then ran after them. Seeing that their attempts were futile, they began to run for the clocktower at as much speed they could conjure up. Behind them, the creature gained speed, and Rowan could literally feel it breathing down their necks. They dodged quickly to the left, and the monster ran past them again. Using this as an advantage, they ran into the closest alley, avoiding a crawling zombie and heading for a hight strength metal gate. They pushed it open and slammed it closed behind them just as Behemoth entered the alley. Locking the gate shut using a sliding bar that was attatched to it, they ran for an exit out of the alley as the monster pounded against the gate, its claws ripping through the metal.  
  
Rowan and Brad turned out of the alleyway and made a mad dash for the clock tower as the raging roar of Behemoth rocked the building around them. There was a loud screech as the gate crumbled under the beast's claws, and they heard its thumping footfalls following them again.  
  
iCome on, come on, come on, come on..../i  
  
The entrance to the clock tower was less than twenty meters ahead of them by now, since they had covered so much area because of their running. The monster roared behind them as it flailed it clawed arms through the air.   
  
iFive meters away.../i  
  
The creature was directly behind them, and it prepared to lunge...  
  
iTwo meters away.../i  
  
Behemoth leapt as Brad and Rowan kept running for the doors...  
  
iOne meter away...NOW!/i  
  
The two pushed the doors open just before the monster landed, and they ran in, slamming the doors behind them as the creature roared in anger behind the door. It wasn't over, they knew it, but they shook off the thought. Sighing, they made their way through the halls to get to the room Jill was being kept in, the vaccine in hand.  
  
**********  
  
Behemoth bellowed in rage as the door slammed shut, then paused, knowing that it would do no good to roar. It would have to plan more, but it would be back. It would come for their blood. Growling, it turned away and began to walk into the shadows.  
  
**********  
  
The two continued down the corridors, the entrance to the safe spot in the next room. Sighing in relief, Brad reached for the doorknob to the next room that would lead to Jill's area as Rowan held her gun to the door, in case something would pop up-  
  
"ROOOAARR!" bellowed a loud, familiar voice, followed by the sound of gunfire from an M-16.  
  
"NO! Stay back!" they heard Carlos yell as he fired.  
  
Rowan and Brad exchanged quick glances, then nodded, pushing the door open, but only to encounter a different Nemesis.  
  
The shirt had been burned off, and the only thing left on it were its black leather pants. It no longer held a rocket launcher, but it had even more lethal weapons. Tentacles stuck out along its back, flailing madly as it approached the door that held Jill. Some of its flesh was charred or blown away, but that didn't stop it.  
  
iJust like Behemoth.../i  
  
Rowan and Brad opened fire on the monster, and it paused, then spun around to glare at them. Its eye fell upon Brad, and a tentacle shot out a few inches from his feet. The man backed away as it made a beeline for him. From behind Carlos opened fire, slowing it down as it struggled to stay upright because of the force coming from the bullets. Rowan began to shoot, aiming at its legs to try to make them buckle, but nothing worked. Carlos' gun went on empty and Rowan continued to fire. She soon ran out of bullets, and the group backed away helplessly as the Nemesis began to head to the area where Rowan and Brad stood.  
  
Phhshhh...  
  
A smoking object flew in front of Nemesis, and it paused for a moment. Rowan and Brad dove behind two different statues as Carlos made a lunge for behind the staircase-  
  
BOOM!  
  
There was an explosion of light and sound, and there was also a growl from where Nemesis stood, as well as a dull thud. The smoke began to clear, and Rowan could see the monster lying on the ground, its body spasiming. She began to look around for the person who fired.  
  
At the entrance to the safe room stood Jill, leaning against the frame of the door with a grenade launcher held loosely in her hands. She gave a weak smile, then crumpled to the floor. Carlos walked out from behind the staircase and went to pick her up, carrying her into the room and placing her on top of the alter. Brad walked in, followed by Rowan, and they closed the door behind them.   
  
There was a low grunt from Nemesis as it began to sit upright. Growling, it stood up and began to limp away, its giant hand clasped over one of its wounds.  
  
**********  
  
At least an hour had passed since the vaccination was injected into Jill, who was still asleep on the alter, and Rowan and Brad began to explain everything. They told of the encounter with Nicholai, Behemoth, and about Ken Franklin. Brad held out the book that told about each of the monsters, and Carlos flipped through them. They found out about the different breeds of Hunters...Hunter Gamma, the frog-like one, and Hunter Beta, the raptor-like one. They were starting to talk about how to escape when a moan from Jill signaled her awakening.  
  
"W-Wha...what...?" she murmered, her speech slurring. "W-Why do I feel better than before?"  
  
"We got the vaccine," Brad replied.  
  
Jill's eyes widened, and she gave a small smile. "Umbrella will have to try harder to get rid of all of us..."  
  
She began to sit up and look around the room, and her eyes widened when she saw Rowan.  
  
"You're alright," she said, her voice becoming less slurred. "What happened when I was unconcious (sp?)?"  
  
They began to explain about Nicholai and how they found out about the vaccine. They told how Nicholai had tried to kill them, but failed when Ken Franklin threw a grenade, but Nicholai escaped. They told about the book they found that told about the monsters and about the journal Rowan found in the sewers. They also mentioned the encounter with Nemesis when they were trying to get to Jill. What seemed to surprise Jill the most was when they mentioned Behemoth. Her eyes widened.  
  
"Oh God," she murmered. "As if they didn't learn to quit already?"  
  
"They were able to alter the virus so that it made it smarter," Rowan explained. "Who knows what else they're planning..."  
  
Carlos cut in, waving a small, white duffle bag in front of them.  
  
"While you guys were at the hospital, I found this along with a dead guy in a white suit," he told them. "Probably an Umbrella scientist. There's a video tape inside." He opened the bag and took out a video.  
  
"Maybe we could use it as evidence against Umbrella," Brad said, "if it mentions any bioweapons experiments..."  
  
"I remember seeing a room behind the stairs," Jill interrupted, slowly getting off of the alter and stretching. "I think there was a T.V. and a VCR in there."  
  
"Shall we?" Carlos asked.  
  
"Guess so," Rowan said.   
  
They nodded solemnly and walked to the door leading out of the safe room. Carlos nudged it open to see if Nemesis was out there, but it was gone.   
  
"Nemesis is gone...," he said, turning to look at them.  
  
"It'll be back," Jill growled. "That thing won't rest until it finishes its job."  
  
Carlos nodded and pushed open the door. Slowly, they made their way to behind the staircase, pushing open the door behind it.   
  
Inside was a highly furnished room. There was a small sofa placed in front of a television and a VCR to the left, and to the right was a bookshelf stacked with various book. The carpet was crimson and the walls were painted tan. Silently, Brad, Rowan, and Jill made their way to the sofa as Carlos flipped the television on and inserted the tape into the VCR. When it started to play, he joined the others at the sofa.  
  
**********  
  
~There was static at first, but the vision became clear, and the group saw two people kneeling on the ground. One was a woman with curly blonde hair and wearing a crimson dress. She wore a black leather trenchcoat and was holding a metal suitcase. Beside her was a man with army cut blonde hair. He wore a blue tee-shirt and denim jeans. Three jagged claw marks ran down his left arm, and the arm seemed to be throbbing. They were standing in a room that looked like the entrance to the...~  
  
"The Spencer Estate," Jill murmered. "Before we came."  
  
~The woman opened the suitcase to reveal a number of containers with green and blue liquid in them. She took a vial containing green liquid and inserted it into an injecting gun.~  
  
~"Hang on, Matt," she said. "I'm not gonna lose you."~  
  
~She raised the injecting gun to his arm, looking for a vein, when the door opened and several men in white biohazard suits walked in. Three grabbed the girl and held her back while another couple grabbed the man, lifting him onto a stretcher.~  
  
~"What are you doing?!" she screamed, trying to squirm out of their grip.~  
  
~"A-Alice?" Matt called over, his eyes confused. "Help!"~  
  
~"Matt!" Alice screamed, pushing one of the biohazard men away and punching him in the face.~  
  
~She punched the other so hard that he fell to the ground. She then swung around and knocked the third one of off his feet, then turned to run for Matt, but was held back by the standing one. The other two got up and another one joined to restrain her.~  
  
~"He's infected," said one of the men standing by Matt. "and mutating. I want you to do the Nemesis experiment on him."~  
  
"Nemesis?!" Brad exclaimed.  
  
~Matt screamed in pain and something flicked out of one of one of the cuts...something that looked horribly like a purple tentacle. The tiny tip of it flicked out, then back in again.~  
  
~"No!" Alice yelled. "Let him GO!"~  
  
~She squirmed, but the men in biohazard suits kept her from getting away. The other men pushed the stretcher away.~  
  
~"Alice, help!" Matt cried.~  
  
~"Leave him alone!" Alice yelled.~  
  
"Oh my God...," Carlos and Rowan whispered in unision.  
  
~The screen went static again, and the vision came into a blank white room. In the middle of the room was a stretcher that held something on it. Two men in white biohazard suits loomed over the stretcher, syringes in their hands.~  
  
~"It's almost complete," said the first one. "We just have a few more cells to mutate, and he will be finished and ready for our use. Then we can send him out to destroy the S.T.A.R.S. members. With any luck, it should be finished by the time the city is fully infected."~  
  
~There was a horrible, primordial roar from the stretcher, but yet, it seemed almost human. A head looked up from the stretcher and glared around, its eyes meeting with the camera. The face looked monster-like, some of its flesh rotting. The rest of the face, however, showed a red and puffed left eye, and the right eye looked pleading for help. It still had a nose, and some of its hair was still on its head.~  
  
~It roared again as one of the men pushed its head back down, but the roar sounded almost like the word 'Help'.~  
  
~"Heeeeeooooooooorrrrrrrrrrppppp!" it cried, and the screen slowly became static as one of the men prepared to inject a syringe.~  
  
**********  
  
The video continued to be static, but nobody rose to turn it off. They were too horrified by what they witnessed, and all of their faces were pale, and all of their eyes were wide.  
  
They didn't know what happened to Alice, but they were guessing that she was either killed or she managed to escape. Either that or she was being used as a guinea pig for Umbrella's experiments. She tried to help Matt, but she couldn't. She was held back to watch him suffer.  
  
Umbrella could have easily vaccinated the man named Matt, but instead, they slowly and mercilessly changed him into a monster by mutating his cells. Slowly, the man was turned into the creature known as Nemesis, and was now bent on destroying the S.T.A.R.S. members. Matt's cries for help went unheard by anyone but himself and the ignorant Umbrella scientists, and he was murdered at the hands of people who tried to play God. The hands of people who thought they were higher than the law.  
  
Umbrella had to be stopped. They were power hungry, money hungry, and destroyed thousands of lives of either humans or animals. First, the deaths of the employees at the Spencer Estate, and, now, Raccoon City. How many millions of people had lost their lives because of them? How many more will suffer. It was clear now. They had to stop Umbrella from doing this, no matter what the price to pay was.  
  
**********  
  
Yeah, I know, the part with Alice and Matt was taken from the RE movie, but I wanted to tell about Nemesis and how it was created. Well...chapter 13 should be done around next weekend or earlier, keep checking in 


	13. Chapter 13

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 13  
By Windra  
  
  
Rowan, Jill, Carlos, and Brad had been sitting in the room behind the stairs silently for about an hour after witnessing the video that showed just how horrible Umbrella could be, and the day slowly ended, bringing them into Monday, October 1st. A short while later, they walked back into the safe room silently. The clock on the wall read 1:32 A.M. They sat there for at least a half an hour before planning their escape route out of Raccoon City. Carlos had told them that he had met a man named Trent before the U.B.C.S. were sent into the city, and Jill and Brad's eyes went as wide as saucers.  
  
"Trent?!" Jill had exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah," Carlos said. "Why? Is he with Umbrella?"  
  
"I don't know. It's just... Before we came to the Spencer Estate, he found me and gave me information about what to expect in the mansion, but he didn't tell me outright that there would be monsters and a virus..."  
  
"And when everyone in the mansion tried to contact me through the radio," Brad said, "and they couldn't get through, he got through and told me about the helipad so I could pick them up."  
  
"So Trent's on our side?" Rowan questioned.  
  
"I dunno," Jill said. "He seems to know a lot about Umbrella. Maybe he's a spy of somesort. But I'm surprised that he hasn't been caught."  
  
"Looks like he's got a grudge against Umbrella," Carlos murmered. "He told me that I should be careful who I trust. I thought Nicholai was a good guy, but look what he did to Mikhail and tried to do to us. He wanted me to go to the resturaunt I met you three at, and he said he would call me. When he did, he threw hints about what was going on at me. That's how I learned about the T-Virus."  
  
"We'll find out, more than likely," Rowan stated. "But how will we get out of the city?"  
  
"Trent told me that there were helicopters by the water treatment facility, and of course, Umbrella owns it," Carlos replied. "That would be our ticket outta here. Brad, you'll be able to fly it?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah, I can."  
  
"So I guess we should stay here for a while, get some rest and look for ammo, then head out?" Rowan asked.  
  
"S'pose so," Jill answered. "We should keep a look out for Nemesis and Behemoth, though."  
  
They nodded and went to different benches, trying to relax.   
  
About two hours had passed since that moment, and Rowan was curled up in the middle bench on the left. She couldn't sleep, no matter what. Memories of the terrors that happened in the past few days came to haunt her, threatening her if she closed her eyes. Sighing and hugging herself for warmth, she glanced around the room. Carlos was sitting in a bench in front of her's and to the right. He was taking the clips out of his guns, looking them over, then reloading the guns restlessly. Two seats ahead of Rowan sat Jill, scribbling in a book, probably writing an entry in a diary. In the seat to the left, behind the seat she sat in on the other side, sat Brad, half-asleep and half-awake. Rowan shook her head and stared down at the floor, thoughts racing through her mind.  
  
Outside, a distant rumble of thunder signaled a coming thunderstorm. There was a flash of light on the other side of the small stained-glass windows, and thunder followed, as well as the pounding of heavy rain.  
  
Sighing, she leaned against the wall, trying to close her eyes. She looked around the room again, and, slowly, the fear of the nightmares she would have dissapated. She was safe here, with her friends. Slowly, she closed her eyes. For the first time in a few days, a dreamless sleep awaited her.  
  
**********  
  
October 1st came and went quickly. The thunderstorm continued for much of the day, finally ending that evening. The group had spent the day searching throughout the clocktower, looking for ammunition or items they would need. Carlos and Rowan had found rounds for their guns, Jill had a hell of a time trying to find rounds for her grenade launcher, and Brad was able to find a Desert Eagle to replace the Beretta. Carlos found some rations in the chest in the safe room, mainly fruit cocktails. They continued to scope the area, avoiding most of the monsters that lurked in the area, until late that evening. The night passed quickly as the group began going over their plans to get out of the city again and checking on their equiment.  
  
Most of them were able to sleep that night, although one person would stay awake to keep watch if any monsters decided to come. They switched turns, waking each other up so that the ones who were at watch could get some rest and someone else could get sleep. However, they couldn't sleep peacefully forever.  
  
**********  
  
CRASH!  
  
Rowan jolted awake from her sleep when the sound of glass breaking echoed from somewhere in the clocktower. She glanced up at the clock on the wall, which read 3:00 A.M. She looked around the darkness of the safe room to see Jill, who was standing watch, press her head against the door to listen for any sounds of the undead. Rowan began to listen, and she heard something echoing through the room outside...  
  
Moans, hungry wails from the undead army that began to pound on the doors of a room that connected to the corridor outside of the safe room. That was enough for Rowan to hear. She jumped up as Jill headed over to wake the others and got her gun and holster belt. She looked around the room to see Brad, Jill, and Carlos gather their things quickly, and, within a minute, they were heading for the door that led out of the safe room, unholstering their weapons.  
  
Jill pushed the door open as they all moved into the room outside of the safe room. It was clear, and the pounding was coming from a door on the opposite side of where they just came out of, the cries getting louder as if the virus carriers knew they were there.  
  
iI'm not surprised. They can probably smell us-/i  
  
-CRASH!  
  
The door had weakened under the assault of the zombie's pounding, and it gave way, becoming knocked off of its hinges as the army of undead crawled and shambled out of the doorway, wailing for blood. They started for them, and Carlos opened fire with his M-16, bringing three down. Rowan trained her gun on the head of one close by and shot it down, but two more moved in to replace it. Jill opened fire, then Brad joined in, but it seemed that more came in every time one was shot down.  
  
"There's too many!" Carlos shouted over the cries of the once-human creatures. "We'll have to make a run for it!"  
  
"Over here!" Brad yelled, running to the wall left of the safe room.  
  
There was a small stained-glass window, but large enough for them to get through, around ground level. Brad slammed the Desert Eagle against it, causing it to shatter, and the group ran through as the zombies began to close in. Rowan noticed that the heavy rain had turned into a light drizzle, and, because the sound of falling rain had eased off, they could hear more clearly. She began to peer around and listen to see if any monsters were nearby. Surprisingly enough, no zombies were near what used to be a stained-glass window. It seemed that they all had gone to the glass area that was first shattered, ignoring the window Brad just shattered.  
  
Rowan let the others get through first before she ran out, the fingers of the undead grazing her clothes. When they were all out, the zombies lurched after them quickly, and it looked as though they were gaining speed because of their hunger. Not wasting any more time, the four ran away from the clocktower, their weapons trained on the shadows as the army of undead wailed in anguish.  
  
**********  
  
The group of four ran for about five minutes until they stopped to catch their breaths. The zombies had lost them, and the four of them were safe for now. Rowan slowly looked up and gazed at the shadows to make sure no more monsters would appear. Nothing in the dark corners or alleys moved, and she glanced at the others, who began to scan the area, as well. Seeing that nothing was about to jump out, they turned to look at the northeast.  
  
"That's where the water treatment should be, right?" Rowan asked, wanting to break the silence.  
  
Jill nodded. "And that'll be our ticket outta here."  
  
"You don't think Nicholai got there before us, do you?" Carlos asked.  
  
"Doubt it," came Brad's reply. "He's probably still looking for the Watchdogs."  
  
"Let's get going," Jill said, motioning towards the direction they were supposed to go.  
  
Rowan, Brad, and Carlos nodded in agreement as Jill began to lead the way. They began to head through a dark alley that led directly northeast. Rowan winced as she looked down the alley, trying hard not to glance at the bloodstains on the sides or the limp and mangled bodies that lay on the asphalt. She sighed, hoping that they would get out of the city and swearing that, if they did, Umbrella would pay dearly.   
  
**********  
  
Behemoth walked stealthily and quietly on the rooftops above them, licking its lips. It hadn't eaten for days, and it was starving, wanting to have fresh blood in its mouth. At the moment, it didn't care if they were armed or not, but it did notice that there were four people instead of two. That only added to its hunger. Hissing, it began to ran along the rooftops, its hunger leading it. It leapt off of a roof and directly behind the group, giving a loud bellow of anger as they swung around.  
  
**********  
  
"Oh no," Rowan growled as she aimed the Colt Python at the creature's head.  
  
She fired, and Behemoth roared, rasing its four arms and preparing to slash at them. Jill fired at it with the grenade gun...  
  
BOOM!  
  
It hit the monster square in the chest, sending it flying backwards a few feet and making it fall on its back. Growling, the monster slowly got to its feet as fire from Carlos' M-16 and Brad's Desert Eagle slammed into its head. The monster gave a roar of anguish as the bullets tore at its skin, tearing at it. Blood began to trickle down its head as some of its flesh began to fall away, but Behemoth didn't fall. It began to crouch as a cat would before attacking a mouse, and leapt at them, its jaws open wide-  
  
-and everyone began to fire at its mouth. Seeing the trouble, Behemoth quickly shut his jaws, but it wasn't quick enough as a round from the grenade gun made contact with its lower jaw, tearing a chunk out of the jaw. The force sent Behemoth flying backwards again, giving the group enough time to flee.  
  
They ran as fast as they could, and, within a minute, they were out of the alley. Not daring to look behind them, they turned left down the street, dashing past a pair of Lickers that were feasting upon a dead body. The zombies shambling around the road turned towards them and began to stumble after them, moaning in hunger, but the group ignored them as they ran past. The monster's angry roar echoed throughout the city as the four escaped its wrath.  
  
They turned a right and into another alley to pause and catch their breaths. Rowan looked around the area, and she froze when she saw a Hunter Beta lunge at them, its claws in the air and ready to tear at them-  
  
-and it was sent crashing into a wall behind it as Carlos fired at its head. The Hunter screamed, its claws flailing, and then it fell limp, a pool of blood forming around the mangled mess that used to be its head. Carlos slowly lowered the M-16 and surveyed the area as the other three cought their breaths. Jill looked completely shocked.  
  
"That...was Behemoth?" she asked shakily. She didn't know what it looked like because she didn't look at the picture of it that was in the book Rowan found.  
  
"Yeah," Rowan answered slowly, leaning against a wall. "The thing's been after us ever since I encountered it in the sewers..."  
  
"That thing's worse than the Tyrant..."  
  
"Guys?" Brad cut in.  
  
"Yeah?" Carlos asked.  
  
Brad pointed across the road, and the others turned to look.  
  
There was a graveyard across the road, and, over the tops of the large amount of pine trees, they could make out the roof of an enormous white building. Rowan gave a silent laugh of triumph, but didn't dare glance at the graveyard. That was always one of her fears. After seeing so many horror movies and hearing dozens of horror stories, Rowan had gotten a fear of graveyards, afraid that something would emerge from the ground beneath the tombstones.  
  
iAnd now I'm more afraid of a cemetary than I ever was. Hell, there's undead walking the streets... I wouldn't be surprised if a skeleton walked out of a coffin./i  
  
She shuddered at the thought, cursing herself for even bringing up the subject. She turned her attention to the others, who were starting to speak.  
  
"That's where the facility is, right?" Brad continued.  
  
"Yup," Jill murmered, nodding.   
  
"Alright," Carlos laughed, but not too loud in case any monsters were close by. "We're so close to gettin' outta here."  
  
Rowan grinned and nodded. "Got that right."  
  
"Okay," Jill interrupted, "let's go."  
  
They nodded and started following Jill, who was already walking towards the cemetary.  
  
**********  
  
Nicholai laughed as he surveyed the area he was in. Tracking down Davis Chan, another Watchdog, hadn't been a problem, since he had found him walking towards the graveyard. Nicholai had followed him into the graveyard and to a cabin, where he had taken Chan by surprise by jumping him and mutilating his body with a dagger. The body lay in a bloody heap a few feet away from the cabin's door, his face so disfigured that it didn't resemble anything human. On the last check, Terence Foster was still alive and well and filing status reports from the water treatment facility. Grinning, Nicholai began to walk towards the facility, but froze when he saw four figures walking towards the direction he was going. He recognized them almost immediantly as Carlos, Rowan, Brad, and Jill.  
  
So Jill and Carlos were still alive. Rowan had lied, but he could have swore that the look of pain on her face was real, and he didn't doubt that Carlos and Jill were dead.  
  
iThe brat's got brains. But those four won't be alive for long, not when I'm in control.../i  
  
Smirking, Nicholai snuck around the cabin and hid so that he could jump them. He waited there for a minute, giving them time to pass, and then jumped out, his M-16 in the air and ready to fire-  
  
-except that they weren't there. They couldn't have gotten out of view unless they jogged, but even so, he would've heard them. Nicholai growled as he started to walk down the trail.  
  
"Freeze," said Jill's voice from behind. "Oh, and drop the guns while you're at it."  
  
Nicholai did as he was told, knowing that it wouldn't be a good idea if he tried to run for it. It was too late to try and make up the story, as he had told Rowan and Brad about his plans, but he would try.   
  
"D-Don't shoot," he whispered, trying to sound desperate.   
  
"Give us a reason why we shouldn't," Carlos said.  
  
"I-I was being u-used by Umbrella...," he said nervously. "...I...was being forced to do all of this... Umbrella t-threatened...that if...if I didn't, they'd kill me..."  
  
"That's not true," Brad cut in. "Then you wouldn't have shot Mikhail and tried to kill us. We weren't involved in the Watchdog plans."  
  
"And you told us what iyou/i were planning to do in the hospital," Rowan growled. "You were gonna kill the Watchdogs, get their data, and try to get out of the city to become wealthy."  
  
Nicholai was lost for words. They knew everything, and he didn't have anything to say that would make them leave him alone. He opened his mouth to say something, not sure of what was going to come out-  
  
-and he was saved by the very ground beneath him. The ground began to rumble and some of the nearby trees tumbled to the ground. As the people behind him struggled to keep their balance, Nicholai laughed and lunged for his weapons. He grabbed the guns and made a dash to get out of the way, and was surprised when he found that the side he had run to wasn't shaking. He casted a glance back to see the ground shaking underneath Rowan, Jill, Carlos, and Brad's feet. Shrugging it off, he ran for the facility, snickering and cursing those four people as he ran.  
  
**********  
  
Rowan collapsed, her back hitting the ground. Gasping, she casted a glance around to see the others lose their balance and to see Nicholai run towards the water treatment facility. She growled and struggled to stand up again, but only found herself back on the ground, and the other three fell as well. Rowan started to stand again, but fell back, not in a struggle for balance, but in complete shock as she saw an event unfold in front of her eyes.  
  
Something slimy burst out of the earth, its body curving to face them. The thing was around twenty or thirty feet tall, and its tan, slimy body was as thick as two tree trunks. A heavy smell of bile and rotten eggs washed over Rowan, and she covered her mouth as she watched the creature open its mouth, revealing four, sharp fangs at each corner of its mouth.   
  
Rowan looked around them, but saw that the area they were in seemed to cave in, trapping them with the creature. The monster prepared to lunge, giving a deep, throaty bellow, thirsty for blood...  
  
**********  
  
Cliffhanger! What'll happen? Find out in the next chapter, which'll probably be out sometime next week. This story is nearing its end, and I'll be getting ready to write a sequel to it. C-ya! 


	14. Chapter 14

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 14  
By Windra  
  
  
The giant worm dove for them with incredible speed, but Carlos, Jill, Rowan, and Brad dodged just before it struck. Giving a deep, throaty bellow of rage, it lunged for the ground, burrowing inside the earth and causing the ground to shake. As the group struggled to regain their balance, the monster emerged from the ground just inches away from Rowan. Roaring, it turned to face them again, its teeth gnashing ominously.  
  
Carlos looked around desperately to try and find something that would stop the monster, and his eyes fell upon around ten electric lanterns that were lying on the ground a few feet away. Somehow, they were still working, although there were some cracks in the glass and that some of the lightbulbs would flicker. He looked around again and saw a man-made pool at the other end of the area they were in. Carlos grinned and ran for the lanterns, grabbing as much as he could hold, and ran back to the other three. He motioned for them to run to the pool, and, glancing at the electrical lanterns, they nodded in usion and darted to the other side of the area.  
  
The giant worm gave a roar of frustration as it dove for the area where they stood. Since it couldn't see, it went by the sense of smell, and that made it slightly slower and less accurate. Hissing in agitation, it arched its body and directed its head to where the scent of the four humans were. Angrily, it growled and prepared to lunge.  
  
"Wait 'till it gets close, then jump!" Carlos yelled.  
  
The giant beast lumbered forward, its mouth opened wide as it dove for the area where the four stood. It moved at incredible speed, and, within two seconds, its jaws were less than five feet away from them.  
  
"NOW!" Carlos shouted, throwing the lanterns towards the pool and running for cover along with Jill, Brad, and Rowan.  
  
The monster couldn't stop or turn with the momentum it gained, and it dove straight for the pool, hitting the cool, icy water at the same time as the lanterns. The angry roar of the worm surpassed the sound of the lanterns exploding and electrocuting it. As sparks from the lanters flew in every direction and sent electricity into the monster's body, the worm's skin became charred and burnt. Its head, which had made a direct hit with the water, flailed wildly as its skin shriveled up and the smell of burnt flesh washed over the four people. Giving a loud, angry roar, its body became limp.  
  
Rowan covered her mouth and looked away, and she saw the others doing the same. They began to walk towards the building, trying to shake off the feeling of being sick. Brad finally broke the silence about a minute later.  
  
"What the hell was that thing?" he asked, still covering his mouth.  
  
"Giant worm?" Jill replied. "Is that thing in the book?"  
  
Rowan took the book out of one of the pouches at her waist and began to flip through it. There were pictures of things called Web Spinners and Brain Suckers, but there wasn't a picture of a giant worm.  
  
"Not a thing," Rowan answered. "I guess the worm got infected by accident."  
  
Carlos muttered something Spanish under his breath and turned to the worm, but looked away quickly, pushing the bile back down his throat. Taking a deep breath, he followed the other three, who began to head for the building.  
  
**********  
  
Behemoth trailed slowly behind the group, not wanting to make its appearance just yet. It was lured to the water treatment facility by their scent, but it also smelt another human in the area. It also saw the giant human monster lumbering about, searching for the people. Behemoth had ignored it and kept stalking the group of four survivors, hungry for blood...  
  
It paused and thought of something. It seemed that the humans wanted to head inside. When they got inside, Behemoth could follow and corner all four of them. Just the though made the crocodile-hybrid's mouth water. Giving a low hiss, it stalked away into the darkness to find a way into the building.  
  
**********  
  
Carlos, Rowan, Jill, and Brad quickly made their way to a narrow bridge that connected Memorial Park's, an area that the four had gone through after they went to the graveyard, gate to the second floor of the Umbrella facility. The bridge had no rails and looked as though it was falling apart, and it was suspended over what had to be a swamp or a marsh. There were fresh, muddy bootprints on the bridge, showing that Nicholai was already there.  
  
iOh grand,/i Rowan thought as they walked closer to the bridge. iWhat a treat./i  
  
Brad lead the way, stepping onto the bridge as the others followed. Rowan froze for a minute. She could have swore that she just heard footsteps wading through the marsh below, but then it stopped. Shaking the thought off, she hurried to follow the others-  
  
-and a thick, purple tentacle flew through one of the cracks in the bridge, missing them all by mere inches. Rowan gasped and jumped back, and Carlos drew his gun at the crack, firing at the tentacle repeatedly and getting a few bullets into the wooden planks until the purple thing retracted. Brad and Jill were aiming at the shadows below, and a deep, rumbling growl filled the air.  
  
"Stars...," Nemesis hissed from below, and, in a swift movement, two tentacles shot up, wrapping themselves tightly around one of the wooden planks as it pulled the once human Tyrant Seeker onto the bridge.  
  
It stood up straight and glared at the group. Raising its arms into the air, it gave a beastly roar that shook the wooden bridge. One of its tentacles lashed out at them, missing Carlos by inches. Lowering its arms and staring at them, it took a massive step forward, then turned to face the two S.T.A.R.S. members, who were cornered on one side of the bridge.  
  
Seeing that this might be their only chance to get it out of the way, the two ran forward and began to push it towards the edge of the bridge. Nemesis was caught by surprise as it stumbled backwards, its feet nearing the edge of the bridge. Brad and Jill shoved it harder, and monster fell back, its arms flailing wildly, trying to grab ahold one of the wooden planks as it fell. It gave a roar of anger as a dull splash signalled that it hit the marshy soil below.  
  
Not wanting to be there when Nemesis got to its feet again, the four of them broke into a run for the door across the bridge. Carlos pulled open the door, allowing them to go through first, then followed quickly, slamming the door shut behind him.   
  
**********  
  
Behemoth watched the event from a window. He watched as the giant human monster fell to the ground. He watched as he saw the four humans run through the door. Hissing in anxiousness, it stalked out of the room it stood in, beginning to hunt for the four humans who had tricked it too many times.  
  
**********  
  
Brad had found a small communications area in one of the rooms. Anxiously, he flipped through the channels with the headphones on his head, trying to get a signal, except most of them were static. Sighing, he flipped to the remaining channel.   
  
iUmbrella sure did a hell of a job trying to keep all the citizens in the city.../i  
  
As he was about to turn away from the communications device to tell the other three the bad news when a droned voice spoke through the headphones. It was obviously a recording, but it was recent.  
  
"Attention," the neutral voice said. "The Raccoon City Project has been abandoned. Political maneuvering to delay federal plans has failed. All personel must evacuate immediately to outside of the ten-mile blast radius. Missiles will be launched at daybreaks. This message is being broadcasted on all available channels, and will repeat in five minutes."  
  
Brad's face paled drastically as he turned to look at the clock on the wall, which was still working. It read half past four in the morning, giving them an hour or maybe more to get out of the city. It was around three o' clock when the group. He turned to face the three again, who were becoming visibly nervous when they saw his face pale.  
  
"What's wrong?" Rowan blurted out.  
  
"The city," Brad whispered. "They're gonna blow it up... Missiles are gonna be sent in to blow it up..."  
  
"WHAT?!" Jill exclaimed, stumbling backwards.  
  
"When?" Carlos asked, trying to keep his voice straight.  
  
"At daybreak...," Brad replied.  
  
"That gives us...what? An hour?" Rowan questioned, earning a nod from Jill.  
  
"We've gotta find that helicopter...," Jill murmered. "And fast..."  
  
They nodded solemnly and silently, then headed out of the room, stepping into the hall and looking for the area where the choppers were, hoping that they would find it in time.  
  
**********  
  
Nicholai smiled as he looked at Terence Foster's corpse. He had stabbed the man in the heart with his dagger. He didn't use a gun because he didn't want to wind up luring those four survivors to him if they heard the noise. Snickering, he sheathed the bloody dagger and turned to the doorway, pausing when he heard silent footsteps echoing down the halls. The survivors had arrived, and they were obviously trying to make their way through the halls silently, considering how silent the tried to keep their footfalls.  
  
iSo they already know I'm here.../i  
  
Grinning, he hid from view as he watched the shadows of the four people move down the hall. Smirking, he pulled out his M-16 and made sure that his Colt Python was in easy reach in case he needed. After seeing that he would be able to grab the other gun if the need arose, he stepped out of the room, watching the backs of Brad, Rowan, Jill, and Carlos continue moving. Rowan was in the very back, and Jill was leading the way. He laughed inwardly as he made his way to them.  
  
**********  
  
Rowan continued to follow the other three through the halls, keeping an eye out for a corridor that could lead them to the helicopters. They were trying to walk as silently as they could, although it wasn't doing much good because the footsteps echoed off of the walls, multiplying the sounds by five. She gripped her Colt Python tightly as they began to turn a corner-  
  
-and something hard and cold pressed against the back of her head. Her eyes widened and shock as she tried to open her mouth to call for help, but she couldn't find her voice.   
  
"Nicholai...," she hissed, finally able to find her voice, and she saw the other's turn around to see what was going on, and drew their guns once they saw what was happening.  
  
"Let her go, Nicholai," Carlos growled, taking a step forward.  
  
"Move any closer," Nicholai's said icily, "and I'll blow her brains out."  
  
Rowan gritted her teeth and looked up in pure terror, but something caught her attention. Did she just hear footfalls? She shook the thought off and exhaled slowly.  
  
"What d'ya want?" she growled.  
  
Nicholai laughed. "Revenge. I'll kill you, then I'll kill your friends, and I'll be the wealthiest man alive!"  
  
"Y'know, greed could kill you," Brad said shakily.  
  
"But I won't be the one who's dead!" he snapped. "You will!"  
  
"Nicholai," Jill hissed. "You've got three people with their guns aimed at you. Why don't you let her go...Maybe we can negotiate..."  
  
Nicholai laughed another bone-chilling laugh, making Rowan shudder. She slowly slid her hand down to the combat knife in her sheath, but the gun pressed harder against her head.   
  
"I wouldn't think about it, if I were you," Nicholai snickered.   
  
Rowan looked down slowly, her voice shaking. "Get outta here," she murmered.  
  
"We're not gonna leave," Carlos muttered.  
  
"If you stay, Nicholai'll kill you..."  
  
"We won't leave," Brad replied.  
  
"Nicholai," Jill shouted, "let her go or I'll shoot!"  
  
"Try me," Nicholai growled as he tightened his grip on the trigger.  
  
Rowan waited for the moment to come as she watched her life flash before her eyes. She had lived a normal life for thirteen years in Raccoon City. She had loved living here. Although she had no brothers or sisters, she had great friends, and her family cared for her more than anything, always watching her back and helping her when times were tough. Four months ago, when the cannibal attacks started, her parents had gotten protective of her, making sure that no one harmed her. When the cannibal attacks ended abrubtly, her parents thought Rowan was no longer in danger. However, the cannibal attacks started again, followed by an army of undead attacking and mutilating citizens on September 26th.  
  
The events afterwards were so sudden. She had lost three of her best friends and her family in only two days, putting Rowan in shock and making her lose the will to live. When she remembered that her friend, Sarah, and her mother's last words for her to survive, she set out to try and find a way out of the city. She set out in the early hours of September 28th, and from there, luck was finally on her side.  
  
She had gone to the R.P.D. after getting a weapon, and had met Jill and Brad there, as well as Nemesis. They escaped the monster and had kept going until they reached a resturaunt, where they met Carlos. Shortly afterwards, at the City Hall, Rowan had been seperated from the group when a pair of Hunters attacked. The monsters had knocked a pile of cars down by accident, cornering Rowan by a manhole and forcing her to go on her own in the sewers.   
  
There, she found out about Nicholai, and also about Behemoth. The crocodile-hybrid had chased her out of the sewers and followed her until Rowan had found a safe spot in an apartment building. She stayed there for the night and headed for the clocktower the next day, finding Carlos, Brad, and Jill after being chased by Behemoth once again. Jill had been infected with the T-Virus because Nemesis had attacked her, giving her a flesh wound in the process. Rowan and Brad had set off for the hospital to find a vaccine. They made their way back to the clocktower after finding the vaccine and being ambushed by Nicholai, and Jill had been cured.  
  
Carlos had found a video showing footage of a woman named Alice trying to inject the T-Virus vaccine into a man named Matt at the Spencer Estate before the S.T.A.R.S. team arrived. Umbrella took the man and forced him to undergo the Nemesis project, but they didn't know what happened to Alice.  
  
They stayed at the clocktower for two days, planning on what to do and scavenging for equipment. Then, that very morning, a horde of zombies attacked, forcing the four to leave the clocktower. The group had made their way to the water treatment facility afterwards, since Carlos had told them that a man named Trent told him that there were helicopters there. After an assualt of a giant worm and the Nemesis, they had gotten inside. Brad tried to use the communications device, only to find out that the city was going to be demolished. Now they had only three-quarters of an hour until the city exploded, and Rowan was being held at gunpoint by Nicholai.  
  
Rowan grimaced as she waited for the bullets to penetrate her skull-  
  
-and she was thrown to the ground. Nicholai's scream echoed through the air as bullets from his M-16 hit the ceiling and walls. Rowan looked up to see what happened.  
  
Nicholai's eyes were full of fear as blood trickled down his mouth, which was open. He was gripping the M-16 tightly, pulling the trigger in the process, because of the pain. Tremendous claws were bursting through the man's chest as blood spurted out of the wounds. Slowly, the former U.B.C.S. captain was lifted off of his feet by the owner of those claws...  
  
Behemoth.   
  
It hissed angrily, then tossed Nicholai to the ground, releasing its claws from its chest. Roaring, it began to slash repeatedly, blood splattering against the walls.   
  
Rowan began to crawl backwards in shock until she was next to Carlos, Jill, and Brad. They were all staring at the event unfolding before their eyes in shock and horror. The crocodile-hybrid roared, surpassing Nicholai's scream, and sunk its teeth into the man's neck, suffocating him. His body convulsed, and his scream was silenced.   
  
The monster looked up at them for a moment, then turned its head back at Nicholai body. It dug its snout into his flesh and began to feed on his blood.   
  
They stared on for a moment, their jaws open and their eyes wide, and slowly stood up. Not wanting to be Behemoth's next meal, they began to run away from it. Rowan paused for a moment, turning to look at the monster that just saved its life, and Behemoth raised its head to look directly at her. Slowly, it turned away and began to feed on Nicholai's body, and Rowan followed the other three down the hall.  
  
**********  
  
They kept running until they saw a door with an 'Exit' sign over it. They ran through and were greeted with the fresh, cool breeze of outside the facility. They had half an hour left, and that seemed to be the only thought in their heads as they ran to the other side of the area, leaping over the bodies sprawled on the ground. They ran through a winding corridor stacked with wrecked cars and junk metal and headed for a werehouse straight ahead. The building was large, low, and wide, but they didn't give the building a second glance as they pushed open the heavy, steel-reinforced front doors.   
  
There was unidentifiable machiney stacked in the building, but in the back, they could see a door. They turned right, but froze in their tracks at the sight of the thing ahead of them.  
  
There was a monstrous piece of machinery sitting in the building. It was some kind of laser cannon. The thing was huge, cylindrical, and at least ten feet high and twenty feet long. Dozens of cables led from various outlets to the wall of machinery they stood next to, and the cannon was aimed at the front door.  
  
Shaking the amazement off, the group started for the back door. Brad opened it and ran inside, holding it open for the others. He turned to see a jet black helicopter sitting in the middle of a helipad, and above the helicopter, the deep blue sky waited. The group grinned as they made their way into the door-  
  
-and behind them, something crashed through the wall beside the front door. A tremendous roar echoed through the area, but one all too familiar.  
  
"Stars...," the voice hissed as it crawled towards them.  
  
The thing's body was different now. Its body was torn and bloody, with patches of exposed flesh. Long claws extended out of what used to be its mouth, and fleshy bubbles rose just below its head. Tenteacles lingered around the beasts mouth, and its hands were shaped almost like flippers, except they were tipped with five deadly sharp claws. Sharp, boney claws emerged along the monster's lower back. It roared again as it cralwed slowly towards them.  
  
It had evolved.  
  
They had half an hour left to get out of the city, the helicopter had not yet been started, and Rowan, Jill, Carlos, and Brad were cornered by the werehouse by the Nemesis, and the once-human beast was howling for blood. 


	15. Chapter 15

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Chapter 15  
By Windra  
  
  
Nemesis gave a low, grumbling howl as it slowly made its advance, its tentacles lashing out in every direction. Brad ran to start the helicopter up as Rowan, Jill, and Carlos stumbled backwards, aiming their guns at its head and firing. Although a bullet to the head should have killed a T-Virus monster for good, the skin around Nemesis' skull was too thick to penetrate, even with bullets, and now there were thick claws emerging from its mouth, making it difficult to get a direct hit at the monster's head.   
  
Jill fired a round from the grenade at the claws in the monster's mouth. It exploded on impact, shattering a claw and chipping the others slightly, but that still wasn't enough. Rowan watched in utter horror as it continued for them, not aware that people were trying to destroy, and not aware of any pain. Jill raised her grenade launcher again, trying to get a good aim-  
  
-and a tentacle shot out lightning fast, wrapping around her left leg and pulling her to the ground. Slowly, it pulled her closer to the sharp claws in its mouth, but seemed to forget that Jill still had the grenade launcher in her hands. She aimed at a part of the tentacle holding her that was closest to the monster, and fired.  
  
The tentacle was blown in two seperate pieces the moment the bullet hit it. The tentacle around Jill's leg was unraveling, and she kicked it off hastily. She stood up quickly and ran to where she was standing a second before. Carlos and Rowan waited for her to get to them before they opened fire again, and Jill joined in the firing as she got to them.  
  
Rowan heard the thrum of the helicopter's engine and the whir of its blades as Brad got the chopper to start. Since it would take a few minutes for the helicopter to warm up, Brad hopped out of it and ran to help the group, firing as he was running. He ran over to the group of three, but was there for less than a second before one of Nemesis' tentacles wrapped around both his legs and pulled him into the air.  
  
Jill and Carlos fired at the tentacle, but Nemesis shifted it each time they fired it so that it wouldn't get hit. Brad was trying to pry out of the creature's grip, but it didn't loosen the tentacle or release him. Rowan looked at the monster, trying to find a weak spot as the monster roared, bringing the S.T.A.R.S. member in its grasp close to its claw-filled mouth...  
  
And she saw it; a small, white spot on Nemesis' left side of its face. It was its good eye, which had somehow stayed in its head when it evolved. The other eye was sewn over, so the left eye was the only source of vision it could use...  
  
iUntil now./i  
  
Rowan raised the Colt Python, aiming at the eye and being careful not to let the target get out of her sight. Less then a second later, she pulled the trigger.  
  
Nemesis gave a loud, high-pitched scream that surpassed that of the Hunters. It had lost its vision so suddenly, shocking it. Roaring, it flailed its tentacles blindly, and the one that was gripping Brad loosened, dropping him to the ground. He began to crawl towards them to avoid getting grabbed again, and stood up and ran to them when he was well out of Nemesis' reach.  
  
Rowan looked up to see a clock dangling on the left wall, but still working. It read 5:15 A.M., and they had only fifteen minutes left to get out of the city.  
  
"How can we beat this thing?" she asked, reloading her Colt Python.  
  
There was silence for a second, and then...  
  
"The laser cannon!" Brad suddenly shouted.  
  
Jill nodded and ran for the cannon, dodging the tentacles that shot out at her. She began slapping the various buttons on the piece of machinery, trying to figure out how to get the thing to work while the others held Nemesis off.   
  
A second later, a loud, echoing hum reverberated throughout the room as the turbines of the laser cannon spun faster and faster.  
  
"Try to lure it in the cannon's path!" Jill yelled over the hum.  
  
The three of them turned with their backs facing the laser cannon, hastily walking backwards to try to get Nemesis in the path of the laser cannon. The creature growled as it followed their movements, somehow using its sense of smell to follow them, completely unaware that it was about to meet its maker. Somehow, it managed to pick up speed, and was dragging its body towards them at an alarming rate. The bullets that were being fired into its body seemed to only make it angrier, and that seemed to give it more speed. The tentacles emerging from its back shot at them like lightning as the laser cannon waited to be fired.  
  
They found themselves standing directly in front of the laser cannon in less than a minute, and Nemesis wasn't far away. It was still crawling towards them, growling as it lessened the distance between them by at least ten feet. The group was on their toes to try and avoid the tentacles that shot at them. Slowly, they began to walk ahead of the cannon, staying in its path as Nemesis dragged its body in front of the cannon.  
  
"MOVE!" Carlos yelled, jumping out of the path with the others as Jill fired the cannon.  
  
There was a flash of bright light at the opening of the laser cannon, and, less than a second after Rowan, Carlos, and Brad jumped out of the way, a bright, white beam, tinted with orange and blue, shot out of the cannon. Rowan could feel the heat from the laser pulsating throughout the room as it shot towards its only target: the blind Nemesis that stood in its way. The laser found its target quickly, and it began to burn at the monster's body.  
  
The monster cried out in confusion, lashing out blindly and angrily in all directions. Its flesh began to melt or burn away as the laser continued to pound it. The tentacles that flailed in the air were disintegrated as soon as the laser touched them, and the bubbles that grew on the beast's back exploded, splattering the floor. The claws in Nemesis' mouth melted and burned away, their ashes lingering for a second before they were also burned away. The monster's body was disintegrating, and its cry was reduced to a small choke, which was also silenced. The heat began to fade away as the laser dimmed and stopped altogether, leaving Nemesis's smoldering black corpse on the path in front of the cannon.  
  
Rowan covered her mouth and closed her eyes. That monster used to be a human being, but now was reduced to nothing because of Umbrella. The man, Matt, was alive when he was being transformed, and had to live through Hell as the experiments were performed on him by Umbrella. He was practically dead as soon as Umbrella injected the T-Virus mutation into him, but his body was used as a weapon. Now, the 'weapon' was destroyed, lying in a smoldering heap in front of them.  
  
Rowan turned around, taking a deep breath, but wincing as she did because of the smell of burning flesh in the air. She looked around to see the other's pondering something as well before they turned towards the helicopter. The chopper had slipped her mind for a moment, and she looked up at the clock again, only to see that they had about ten minutes left to get out of Raccoon City. Sighing, she followed them to the chopper, not wanting to cast a glance back at Nemesis.  
  
The four of them walked up to the chopper and, without a moment's hesitation, jumped in, taking their seats. Rowan sat in the back and leaned against one of the chairs as Brad flew the helicopter in the air.  
  
They were going to get out of Raccoon City.  
  
******************  
  
Short, I know. But this story is nearing its end. I'm gonna do the epilogue after this, and then I'm gonna be working on the sequel. C-ya! 


	16. Epilogue

Raccoon City: Demon's Gate  
Epilogue  
By Windra  
  
  
The group was silent as Brad flew the helicopter away from the doomed city. The sky was still a dark navy blue with some light blue at the horizon, and they could see the sun beginning to rise. Rowan sat next to Carlos in the back seat, staring at the floor with thoughts racing through her head. Raccoon City, the city that had been infected with the T-Virus, was about to be wiped off of the map by missiles that were being sent in by Umbrella.  
  
Rowan had lived there for all of the thirteen years in her life, and now that city was going to be destroyed. She would never see the peaceful Raccoon City that had existed before the T-Virus came around again. She would never see her parents or friends that lived there again. She wouldn't see them laugh, see them smile, or even see them cry....  
  
iDon't think like that.../i  
  
From the corners of her eyes, Rowan could see the missiles heading for the city of the dead from either direction, preparing to destroy the city where she had lived. She could see them move closer, but she quickly turned her head away and closed her eyes, not wanting to witness what was about to happen.  
  
And as the deafening roar of the explosion echoed through the air and a shockwave was sent through the air, rocking the helicopter roughly before stopping, Rowan didn't look back.  
  
There was no turning back now. Umbrella would pay.  
  
**********  
  
"The mission has been accomplished," a male scientist who was standing by a telephone said. "Raccoon City has been eliminated from the map."  
  
Dozens of people who were Umbrella scientists or part of the Umbrella army sat in a large, brightly lit office. The walls were lined with computers and security camera screens. Desks sat around the room, their surfaces neat and clutter-free. Telephones were atop those desks, but they were not ringing constantly as they usually did.   
  
Everyone in the room was sitting at a desk or in a chair somewhere in a room, watching a man who was standing in front of the room, staring at a wall with his right hand rubbing his chin. The man was Damien Roscwood. He had short, black hair that went to the top of his ears and icy blue eyes. The man was dressed in a white lab coat, which was unbottoned and revealing a black long-sleeved shirt. He wore white jeans and on his chin was a rough and unshaven area of where a beard used to be. The man smirked.  
  
"Good," Damien hissed coldly, still staring at the wall. "What has become of Jake Wilntow, the secret Watchdog?"  
  
"He is the last remaining," the scientist who responded before told him. "Apparently, Nicholai Ginovaef killed the other Watchdogs. Jake has been keeping an eye on him the moment Nicholai entered the city. Nicholai was killed by project SE42, and Jake took the man's data, which was on floppy disk, when SE42 went back out into the city, a few minutes before Raccoon City was destroyed. He was able to find a jet nearby the water treatment facility, and the jet was hidden from the view of other people. Jake escaped the city."  
  
"Excellent. What are the reports on the floppy disk?"  
  
"Nicholai has been reporting as he was supposed to, although he added the data from the other nine deceased Watchdogs to his. He reported that he met four survivors wandering around. Two of them were S.T.A.R.S. members, one was a U.B.C.S. soldier, and the last was a young girl."  
  
"Who are they?"  
  
"He reported that the two S.T.A.R.S. members were Jill Valentine and Brad Vickers. The U.B.C.S. soldier was Carlos Oliveira, who apparently found out about the T-Virus and went against Nicholai. The young girl was Rowan Naton, who found out what the Umbrella Corporation was doing thanks to the S.T.A.R.S. members and tagged along with the group. Jake said that they escaped, because he saw another helicopter fly away from the city."  
  
"I see. I want you to keep tabs on them. Try to gather information on the four survivors so we may be able to track them down."  
  
"Yes, sir!" the scientist replied before sitting at a desk.  
  
Damien chuckled and turned towards the door. He opened it and headed to his own office, which was located down the hall to the right. Grinning, he stepped into his well furnished room. The walls were white-washed, and the rug was a light gray. Wooden book cases were lined along the right wall, and in the far left corner was an oak desk with a chair seated in front of it. A computer sat atop the desk, and security camera screens were on the back wall, showing him what was happening in every room of the building. The man laughed and looked at the ceiling.  
  
He had a feeling that he would meet some of those survivors soon...  
  
**********  
  
Alas! My masterpiece is done! J/k. Anyway, I'll be working on the sequel. Please review this! Thanks!  
  
~Windra 


End file.
